Traitor
by chibi-ShadowMaiden
Summary: Cecile is sent by Landa to be a double agent to spy on the Basterds and she crashes right in it with a headstrong attitude. What could stop her?Oh right, her emotions and the fact that they'd kill her in a heartbeat if they discover who she really is.Oc
1. Introductions

**AN:Let me start of saying that I'm a huge fan of the movie Inglorious Basterds. I think that it's absolutely amazing. Quentin Tarantino is a genius for being able to make stuff like this. Thus, I just had to make a fanfic for it once I got an idea for one! I hope you enjoy reading it as much I did writing it. :)**

I was sprawled on the ground motionless, smirking to myself when I heard a truck rumbling as it trampled the dirt path that I lied in the middle of. I couldn't have moved out of the way even if I wanted to. My whole body was in agony.

Stop right there. Don't go thinking that I'm another weak defenseless mixed in that war. I was there like that intentionally. Seriously, I meant to do that. See, it's all Landa's plan...

I crawled on to the bed next to him and cuddled in to his arms forcefully. I placed a hand on the side of his face and kissed him on the lips. When he didn't return the gesture, I pulled away and saw a distant look emerge in his eyes. "What's wrong with you? You've been like this for a week,"I whined disappointed. I pulled away from him slightly.

"It's nothing. Don't waste you're time worrying about it,"he answered still looking distracted.

I stared at him coldly for a moment before snapping, "Too late. Just tell me what's troubling you, and maybe I can help."

He stared at me in thought for a moment before explaining, "It's the basterds. They worry me. They've been too successful and it's all happening too fast. The Fuhrer wants the problem to be taken care of as soon as possible. I was just thinking about that..."

"Oh...That. Well it's not like it's a problem that can be solved easily. Did you have any ideas?"I pestered simply because I was bored.

"Well...I had one idea, but it involves you..." I raised my eyebrows surprised. "Never mind. Forget I said anything,"he chuckled when he saw my reaction.

"No, no. Tell me,"I giggled. "I'm curious now."

He looked so pleased by my display of interest. He grinned as he told me, "I was thinking you could become a double agent and accompany the bastards as long as you can without raising suspicion. While you're with them you could find ways to report back to me."

I laughed. At the time I thought it was the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. "If I did decide to do it, how would I get close to them?"I scoffed.

"Anyone would be courteous to someone hurt, right? If they find you in bad condition, I'm sure even monsters like them would take you along. Also, you could make yourself appear Jewish. I'll have someone dye your hair brown and cut it,"he suggested grabbing a strand of my long blonde hair and letting it slide through his fingers. Noticing my skeptical expression he assured me, "If you don't want to do it, that's fine. I don't expect you to."

Him saying that only made me want to do it more. Who knows, maybe it would be interesting. I was eager to investigate what the basterds were really like. I've heard so many rumors about them. "I'll do it,"I promised. Also, if I was successful, I couldn't fathom the rewards I would receive from my Fuhrer...

- - -

"Aldo...What's that?"The bastard known as Donny inquired pointing further up in the road at a limp looking body.

Aldo, the leader of the basterds leaned forward and squinted trying to see what Donny was pointing at more clearly. Once he got a good look he leaned back in the driver's seat and stated casually, "Looks like a woman to me." A smirk found it's way on to his lips as he continued to drive until he stopped abruptly, nearly crushing her. He had a feeling that this would prove to be interesting. He looked at Donny expectantly. "Well? Go check it out Donnowitz."

"Fine,"Donny gave in and did as he was ordered to. He got out of the truck and scanned the area quickly before approaching the woman. He furrowed his eyebrows and scratched his forehead as he stared down at the woman unsure if she was even alive. Her clothes were drenched in blood that seemed to be dry, and there were bruises and cuts throughout her body. Seeing as the rest of her body was motionless, her head was face down, probably covered in dirt by now.

Donny pushed her lightly as he could with his foot to flip her over so that her she was lying on her back. He saw her chest heave slightly, so she must have been passed out because she didn't have any complaints about being moved.

- - -

"Is she alive or what?"I heard a voice holler impatiently. The voice had a strange American accent. I had a feeling that it was their leader, Aldo the Apache. It made me nervous. It seemed so unreal that the notorious Nazi killer was only feet from me.

I remained in a half asleep state. I didn't want to be clueless as to what was happening, plus I wanted to hear what they said if they thought I couldn't hear.

"I think so...What do you want me to do with her?"a voice coming right next to me answered back. I couldn't determine who that was, but he sounded American as well.

"She looks Jewish doesn't she? We might as well take her. We can't just let her die there."

So far everything was going according to plan. I felt two strong arms pick me up and carry me to a truck. My face was pressed against his chest and I could feel beads of sweat touch my skin. The smell of sweat and cologne filled my nostrils.

I was dropped on to a cold floor and I heard quiet voices speaking. The vehicle took off and the voices gradually grew louder and became boisterous. I had been nervous but their casual chatter calmed me down. It made them seem almost humane. To my surprise, I ended up falling asleep despite the noise. I guess I was more tired than I thought. When the Nazis beat me it took a lot out of me. It's as if we used fake blood.

When I awoke it was silent and pitch black. It appeared that I was the only one in the truck currently. It must have been nightfall. I felt my way around until I felt a wall. I pressed my ear on it and I could hear voices coming from the other side. I then felt my way around for a door which I eventually found. It creaked eerily when I pulled it open. Just like that all of their eyes were glued on me. I stepped on to the ground, crumpling leaves as I did. I stared at all of them expectantly, daring them to speak first.

"Well, well, well,"the one who I assumed was Aldo began. "Looks like sleeping beauty is awake." I heard a few chuckles come from the men surrounding him around a bonfire. I began to feel intimidated knowing that they could break me with just a flick of their finger.

I forced tears to form in my eyes and I fell to my knees holding on to my wounds that were now bandaged poorly. Aldo sighed and let his forehead fall in to his palm making a loud smacking sound. I heard him mutter something about another one before saying, "Hirschberg, bring her here."

A younger, shorter looking man stood from the forest floor and approached me. He stared down at me judgmentally before grabbing my arm roughly and dragging me to Aldo. I kept my eyes focused on him, ignoring all of their other beady stares.

My knees became even more scrapped when I was pushed on to the ground in a kneeling position. Hirschberg went back to where he was sitting and another man came over and stood next to Aldo. He seemed like a giant. No doubt he was the Bear Jew that everyone gossiped about.

Aldo stared at me intently seeming to look right through me, and if he actually could, I would be in quite a dilemma. I looked down at my lap at my twidling fingers and allowed him to inspect me. "Do you speak english?"he finally asked in his thick American accent that already irritated me.

"Yes." I spoke softy, successfully coating my french accent with a fake american one. For now I'll fake being meek. They'd never suspect a thing.

"What's your name?"Aldo demanded. I would have thought that even primates like them would show sensitivity toward me seeing that i was a woman, but I it was apparent that I was mistaken. He spoke to me as if I was a man as well. There was no softness in his voice. It was just gruff and cold. And don't forget that 'sophisticated' accent he had mixed in there.

"G-Gabrielle..."I stuttered. I averted my gaze from him not intentionally. He was more frightening than I imagined. I peaked up and the Bear Jew was leaning forward, staring at me with interest. I wanted to glare at him and tell him he might as well take a picture, but I denied the urge and looked back down.

Aldo took a drink from the flask he had in his pocket and said, "Well _Gabrielle_...Why don't you tell us what exactly you were doing before we found you."

"A french family was letting my hide in their home. Two days ago german soldiers came to inspect homes for jews and they ended up finding me. They beat me and yelled at me for hiding so long or something like that. I think that they were saying something about taking me to a crematorium or one of the camps. I can't remember which. Anyway...They took me on one of the trucks, but last night I was able to get away. There were so many of us that they didn't realize I was missing." I planned out that lie last night. I think that I recited it perfectly. I didn't break eye contact as I looked each of the men square in the eyes. I just hoped that it was believable enough. What really happened was Hans had a bunch of soldiers roughen me up a little bit and then I stayed there overnight. I noticed all of the jewish looking ones of the bunch let out a sigh, relating the my story.

"So you're jewish...Interesting,"Aldo commented rubbing his chin with his thumb. "We've got some _lovely_ jewish guys over here, like Donny." He punched the Bear Jew's shoulder playfully. The fact that the Golem had a real name made him appear almost humane. He laughed loudly at his leader's sarcasm.

"So...Who exactly are you people?"I inquired timidly. Obviously, I already knew, but I couldn't let them know that I did. It would make me seem too knowing.

Aldo looked at me in disbelief. "Honey, have you been living under a rock? We're the basterds. Now don't tell me you haven't heard of us." I shook my head, signifying my answer was no.

He laughed mockingly, "You really were living under a rock!" The men looked at Aldo waiting for him to describe who they were. They were smirking smugly. "We're in the Nazi killin' business and honey, business is a-boomin!...You scared?"

I answered surely,"No...I think it's amazing." Honestly, I didn't really have an opinion on what they did. All I knew was that I hated this Aldo guy so far. He talked to me like I was a child. Although I did, I couldn't really blame him. I probably seemed like one to them.

"Heh. Makes sense since you're jewish...You want some introductions? We've got nothin' better to do at the moment,"he suggested.

"Sure."

"For starters, I'm Aldo. This here is Donny Donnowitz. You might know him better as the Bear Jew." He gave Donny's shoulder a quick pat. I looked at the ground near him and saw his famous club. I leaned closer slightly to get a better look at it. Not wanting to draw attention, I looked back up and made eye contact with Donny. My eyes averted to Aldo quickly. "Over here is Stiglitz. We recruited him from the germans not too long ago." I looked up at his cold eyes. He was someone I had been worried about from the beginning. I hoped that he wouldn't recognize me. I was always around Hans, so he might have seen me a couple of times. Hopefully my new appearance would be different enough. My long blonde wavy hair was cut erratically up to my shoulders and bangs covered my forehead. In addition, it was dyed a deep brown color.

Aldo introduced the rest of them but I hadn't bothered to remember any of their names. The only other one that stood out to me was Smithson Utivich. He seemed so gentle. I couldn't picture him killing anybody. I wasn't quite sure if I thought of it as a good or bad thing.

I sat near the camp fire for some time trying to warm up, displaced from the basterds. They were on the other side of the bonfire talking, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. They looked in my direction every once in a while and laughed. It made me feel so stupid and insignificant. I had to do something fast. I needed to get close to one of them or else the mission would be a failure from the start. I wouldn't get another chance to do this. I planned to get closer to Aldo and Donny. Then I could have a better chance of success. The only question was how the hell would I be able to get close to those basterds.

**AN: Well that's the end of the first chapter. One thing I'm not sure of yet is if this is going to have a love relationship between Cecile and one of the basterds. The next chapter is going to have more one-on-one interaction with the basterds. Let me know if you want me to focus on a specific one because I haven't chosen who yet. Well, that's it for now. Please review! Don't be hesitate to give me constructive critique. It actually helps me a lot. **


	2. Cecile

**AN: Hey Readers! I hope you like the chapter. I took advice on one of the reviews and I worked on Aldo's accent a little bit. I hope it's alright. Anyways, enjoy!**

"Are you doing okay, Gabrielle?"I heard a voice ask. I turned my head to the side and saw Smithson was now crouching down next to me.

I forced a smile and replied,"Yeah, I'm okay, I guess. Thanks for asking, Smithson."

"You remember my name?"he asked in disbelief.

I nodded. "Of course."

I looked across the fire at Aldo who was engaged in conversation, and I commented, "He treats me kind of funny."

"Don't mind him. He just doesn't warm up to people very easily. When you know him better, he's different...But, you probably won't get a chance to get to know him,"Smithson assured me.

I glanced at him before looking back in to the flames dancing. He was so sweet. I couldn't help but to smile a little. He had that boyish charm. "Whatever. He can be a jerk to me all he wants. I don't care,"I lied not caring if he could hear me or be honest it pissed me off that he treated me the way he did. He did not know who he was dealing with, but believe me, overtime he will.

He chuckled softly at my attitude. "By the way, are your wounds alright? I tried bandaging them up, but I guess I'm not the best at it."

I flashed him a smile trying to calm my rage. "Thanks Smithson. I think it'll be alright for now."

"Whenever we get near a town, we'll drop you off there and you could see a _real_ doctor. I recemend you gettin' a lil' make over so that you don't get yourself back in to trouble,"Aldo spoke up, ease dropping on our conversation. I froze. I couldn't depart from them that soon.

I looked across the fire and saw most of the men arose from the ground and retreated to nearby tents. The only few remaining were Donny, Aldo, Stiglitz, and of course Smithson. I noticed Smithson let out a yawn. I didn't want him to go to bed and leave me alone with those lunatics. However, I shouldn't have been worried about being close to him. I had my sights on Aldo.

"I'm going to get some sleep. If you want, you could sleep in my tent. There's no one else in there tonight,"he offered timidly, standing up slouching. Looking down at me, he seemed to be the same height as the trees around us.

"Thanks. I'll meet you there. I want to stay by the fire a little bit longer." He nodded and I watched him enter his tent as he glanced back at me expectingly.

I put on my helmet and headed in to the battle. It was silent aside from the cackling fire. "So where are you guys headed now?"I questioned to break the silence.

Aldo shot daggers at me with just a glance which made me shudder inwardly. "Don't worry bout' it, honey." If he called me 'honey' one more time I swear I was going to get up and smack him. However, I did get up and sat closer to him since we were having a conversation, but I denied the urge to hit him.

"But I want to know where I'm going to be when you guys drop me off, love,"I countered giving him a pet name that I'd never let him forget.

"You'll see. Why do you want to know so bad, pudding?"Donny added calmly. It made my blood boil to be called by those stupid names and they definately knew it. They were trying to make me snap, but I wouldn't make it that easy for them. I could see where that was going. They were tag teaming me. How unfair...

"I like to know where I am. I don't like being lost,"I scoffed folding my arms.

"But women are always lost,"Donny mocked earning a laugh from Aldo and a smirk from Stiglitz. My jaw dropped. I caught myself by pulling my lips in a pout and my eyes glaring at him.

"Sexist joke. Haha, so funny,"I laughed sarcastically, mocking their laughs in a deeper, masculine voice.

Aldo smacked Donny's shoulder lightly with the back of his hand. "Donny, come with me,"Aldo said to him. They stood up and began walking in to the darkness of the woods.

"Where are you guys going?"

"To take a piss. Unless you want us to right here..."Aldo rose an eyebrow and gave me a challenging gaze.

"No, that's okay!"I chirped waving my hands in front of my myself. Men never go to 'relieve themselves' in pairs like how women do. No doubt that they went to talk about me. I wondered if I should have been worried. I hadn't really done anything yet that would make them suspicious of me. Or atleast I don't think I did.

The ear shattering noise of two metals slashing made my head shoot up at the creator of the noise. Hugo was sliding one blade down the other to sharpen each of the knives and making the screeching sound in the process. My eyes traveled from the knives to his face and I saw that he was staring at me intently. The look in his eyes was menacing. I began to feel distressed. Was he suspicious of me already?

I looked away from him and back at the fire. I really wished that Donny and Aldo would hurry back before that man slaughtered me.

Hugo stopped slicing the twoknives against each other. "You look familiar..."he stated. His voice was husky and cold. It was no wonder so many germans' nightmares were filled with him. To be honest, if he wasn't so frightening, I would probably think he was handsome.

"Do I? Who do I look like? Someone pretty I hope,"I humored trying to play it off so that I wouldn't seem shady. I really hoped that he wouldn't catch on until it's too late. I had a feeling that it would take him some time to peice things together, judging by the skeptical look on his face so I wasn't worried just yet, but if anyone was going to figure me out, it would be him.

He grunted in response, "No, she's not pretty at all." He cringed and looked like he wanted to vomit at the thought of her.

"Who?"

"Hans Landa's bitch. Her name is Cecile." He spoke with venom dripping from his lips. If he knew that I was really Cecile, he would have probably stabbed me to death with those knives. The thought of it made me shiver.

"I've heard some things about her. Why do you hate her?"I pestered. I was curious what the basterd thought of me.

"If it weren't for Landa, she'd be a dirty prostitude on the streets, and I would have done her already for cheap,"he replied fiery. I giggled. You would think I would be offended, but this was too entertaining. Maybe I wasn't insulted because I knew I'd get revenge on them later. It was a thought.

"Why would you do her? I thought you said she wasn't pretty,"I teased.

"She's ugly as hell, but she's got a hot body."

"Who ya'll talkin' bout'?"I turned around and saw that it Aldo who asked and him and Donny were back.

"Cecile,"Hugo answered.

The two of them broke out laughing. "That's a good one!"Aldo snickered. I laughed aloung quietly so that I wouldn't look out of place. I swear I was going to kill Aldo. He got on my last nerve.

"She looks like her, doesn't she?"Hugo pointed out looking at me and nodding.

"I don't look anything like her! I think you're just trying to call me ugly,"I whined trying to get them off of the topic.

I heard Aldo mutter under his breath. "That's side' the point..." I inhaled deeply and tried to control my wrath. He knew that I would get angry. He was testing me. Trying to make my snap. Aldo sat closer to Hugo and I felt his gaze on me, but I looked down to avoid awkwardness.

Donny sat down on the forest floor, crashing down next to me. Our shoulders as well as our legs were touching dew to how close we were. He sat with his legs like a prezel and his bat layed across his legs.

I inched away from him and snapped,"Have you never heard of personal space?"

He looked at me and smirked deviously. He gripped his bat and swung it at my face, stopping inches before it collided. He joked, "You flinched."

"No shit! That's cause you almost hit me in the face!" I leaned back and pushed it out of my face forcefully. He held his bat in front of him.

He stared at it pridefully. He seemed to cherish it. Why could it mean so much? It was onlya disgusting bat covered in blood stains as well as dirt. "Tomorrow I'm going to bash in some Nazi skulls with this baby."

"Will I get so see? Sounds entertaining,"I commented smiling at his enthusiasm.

He answered honestly as he ran a hand down the bat avoiding splinters, "Hopefully. As long as you don't get droped off before we run in to some Nazis."

"Where are we headed anyway?"I inquired.

"I think we're somewhere near Paris right now and we're heading south. I don't know." He shrugged. It was great to know how well informed he was. However, as long as I had a rough idea where they were I'd just get that message sent to Hans somehow. I just had to figure out how to do that without them knowing.

"I wouldn't mind living in Paris,"I stated to myself softly, smiling sweetly at the thought of it.

He nodded, not agreeing with me but acknowledged that he heard me and grabbed a canteen and poured some water on to the baseball bat purposely. He grabbed a worn out towel from his pocket and attempted to wash the everything off of it, but he wasn't doing such a good job. "You're not doing it right!"I intruded just to be obnoxious.

"I'm goin' to bed, keep it down, will ya'?"Aldo said before getting up. I turned and saw that Hugo was gone and it sent chills down my spine. I hadn't even known when he left. If Donny wasn't there, I'd be petrified. It gave me the feeling of the monster in a horror movie stalking behind you, breathing down your neck.

"Why don't you do it since you're so smart,"he challenged handing it to me.

"Fine."I took it from him and started cleaning it. As I whiped blood from it, I could see writing written on it. I ran my finger over the inscriptions as I stared at it with curiousity beaming from my eyes and I asked, "What's this?" I pointed to the names.

He looked down at it affectionately. He explained,"I got some people from my hometown to inscribe names of loved ones who were in the war." I looked in to his eyes and for a moment I felt sad for plotting to sabatoge them. On the other hand, I couldn't get myself lost in distractions like this. I knew what I had to do, and I was going to do it no matter how hard it was going to be.

I nodded and smiled at him. I'd feel out of place if I commented on it.

I whipped off a final smudge of blood of of the bat before handing it back to him. "Not bad,"He complimented admiring the cleansiness. "You know how to play?"

"Of course I do,"I exclaimed. "Who wouldn't?"

"Wait, so does that mean you're american?"he asked in disbelief.

"Yes. I lived in New York when I was younger,"I lied. Actually I've been living in France ever since I was born, but he didn't need to know that.

He suggested, "Maybe we should have a game one of these days." He yawned loudly.

"Someone's tired." After saying that I mimiced the action.

"Make that two,"He joked. He stood grabbing his bat and dumped the remaining water in the canteen in to the dying flames leaving us in darkness. He started walking to a tent with his bat over his shoulder. "Goodnight."

"Night,"I called. In a hurry, I walked to the tent that Smithson was in, getting frightened at the thought of Hugo learking around in the darkness ready to rip me to shreads with his bear hands.

AN: Yayz that's the end of chapter 2! I put up pictures of what Cecile/Gabrielle looks like on my profile if you were wondering what she looks like. That's it. Please review :)


	3. Respect

**AN: Sorry I haven't been able to update for a while. I've had some trouble writing this chapter, I had to re-do half of it because I didn't like how it was originally. Plus I haven't been home lately because of track meets(I got 1st in leagues Woo!) I'm going to try to get the next one out fast. I feel like I took forever to get this one out. Anyway, enjoy! **

The next morning I awoke to the usual routine. I was snuggled up against the warmth of Hans's chest with his warm scent of unfamiliar cologne entering my nostrils. The only thing different was that we were laying on a hard suface and not a luxurious bed. I could hear the birds chirping very close by. My eyes shot open and I realized that it was not Han's who I was cuddling with, and I was not in a bedroom. I sighed irritated, not wanting to come back to reality.

It was Smithson whom I was laying with. Although I was disappointed, I found myself smiling unintentionally as I looked at his gentle face. He looked even more naive when he was asleep. I almost reached over to stroke the side of his face, but as my hand reached over a visual of Hans popped in to my head and I yanked my hand back to my side. I couldn't afford to get distracted from my mission. I couldn't let my guard down for even a minute. I promised myself right there that I wouldn't allow myself to become attached to them. The only problem was that I had a habit of breaking promises...

When I felt that irksome feeling of liquid bottling up in my bladder I stood up from the tent ready to search for somewhere to relieve myself. Before I left the tent I looked behind me at Smithson and saw that I hadn't awoken him. He was sleeping like a baby. Some basterd he was. He didn't show any signs of alertness. Good thing for him that my mission wasn't to kill him...

I left the tent and was instantly bashed by the morning crisp air. I quivered and I wrapped my arms around myself trying to get some warmth. My clothes weren't very helpful either. I was wearing a white t-shirt aloud with brown slacks. They had various rips in them and were drenched in blood as well. I know, it's so attractive. A jacket at least would have been helpful.

I looked around the area and saw no one was present. They must've still been sleeping in the tents. I always had been an early riser. It must've been about seven in the morning. Not having to answer anyone as to where I was going, I headed in to the forest already disgusted and wishing that there was a sanitary bathroom nearby.

Honestly, I'd rather not describe my experience of having to 'relieve myself' in the good outdoors. All I'm going to say is that it involved tense crouching and some leaves. Men didn't know how lucky they were when it came to that stuff. I began walking back to where camp was set up shaking my head in repulsion.

On the way there I came across a small stream. I was only stuck outdoors like this for about a day, and I already yearned for a shower. I couldn't see how people were able to do this constantly. I approached the stream and kneeled down in front of it. I leaned forward and stared at my reflection, which naturally stared back. I looked like shit, to be simple. My face was already covered in dirt and mud. My hair was starting to become greasy, but it looked bad before that anyway. It was cut so unevenly. Such short hair didn't really suit me anyway, but it was necessary.

I placed my hands in to the freezing water and used it to wash my face. Then I dipped my hair in to the stream to get some off the grease out of it. I sighed and sat down on my butt. It was almost eerie being alone like this. I realized then that it was the perfect opportunity to get a message to the Germans. I had a notepad and a pen in my pocket, so maybe if I wrote a note, a german soldier would find it. I scanned the area thoroughly before snatched my small notepad and pen out of my pocket. I knew that it would come in handy. I wrote down what Donny had told me last night. He said that they were headed somewhere near Paris so I jotted that down quickly. I realized that it wouldn't be very wise to just leave it there. There was no telling if a german officer would even find it. Plus, what if one of the basterds were to find it? I crumbled it up and put it and stuffed it down my shirt knowing that it was nearly impossible for anyone to find it.

I stood and started heading back to camp again. I was almost there, but then I heard a voice say, "And where were you?" In surprise I ended up shrieking. I spun around and saw Hugo standing there leaning up against a tree looking as if he's been standing there a while. Shit! He couldn't have seen me, could he?

"Hey! Don't scare me like that! I could have had a heart attack!"I scolded placing a hand over my chest as I tried to recompose myself. He stared at me coldly and waited for an answer. "If you must know, I was doing womanly things..." I looked back at him and he didn't say anything. I felt the blood rush out of my body. He must've seen me! Why else would he have been acting so suspicious?He starting walking toward me, taking a drag from his cigarette as he did. I felt every muscle in my body tighten. Just act normal, I told myself. If he asks me about it, I'll just make up a lie. I'd be fine.

However, he didn't question me any further. He just walked right past me in the direction of camp. I took a quick look down at myself and saw that I wasn't harmed in any way. I spun around and stared at him in awe. He stopped walking and turned his head blowing smoke in my direction. I stopped breathing unintentionally. He rose an eyebrow and asked nonchalantly, "Are you coming or not?" Relieved, I exhaled slowly.

I nodded and replied, "Yeah, I'm coming." I jogged to catch up to him.

I walked next to him stumbling upon rocks and such. Standing next to him I felt so puny, like he could step on me like a bug. When I stood next to him I barely came up to his shoulder. He blew smoke from his cigarette from his lips and the wind carried it in to my face. I coughed from it. I couldn't stand that stench. It was simply repulsive. I peaked up at him and saw that he was smirking. He better not have done that on purpose. Then again, if he did, it's not like I could do anything to him. Not now at least. I looked ahead of me again, glaring. Where camp was set up was in sight. "You want a light?"he asked impassively.

I snapped my head up at him and hissed,"What do you think asshole!"

He stopped walking and turned to face me. Suddenly, his free hand was wrapped around my neck, squeezing snugly. I felt like the wind was knocked out of me. My eyes were wide as I waited for an explanation for his actions. He wasn't going to kill me, was he? He casually continued to smoke as he warned me, "You're lucky that Aldo likes you so much. If not I'd probably kill you right now." He let go and looked away from me. "I suggest you don't talk to me like that again..."

I remained in the same spot in shock, taking in what just happened. I gingerly touched my throat where the lunatic almost strangled me. I felt so disturbed. I could have been dead right now. Surely he could've if he didn't have self control. I had to watch my back when I was around him. No doubt that he really would kill me the next time I slipped up.

I started continued walking and I could see Aldo in sight standing outside at camp. I wondered if what Hugo said about Aldo was right. If it was true, that would make my mission ten times easier. Other than that, I'd feel disgusted. I've known the man only a day, and I already despised him. I couldn't imagine myself being friends with him at the very least. I hated everything about him down to his accent, but there was something about him. Something that I respected about him.

He watched me uneasily as I walked toward him. I rubbed the back of my neck bashfully. "I though he was gonna kill you for sure!"He exclaimed. "You still in one piece?"

"What's it look like?"I snapped.

"How come he didn't kill you? He looked like he was goin' to for sure!" His face was exploding with excitement.

I folded my arms and sent him a dirty look. "What is this for you, a baseball game?"I hissed.

"Naw, that's what we have Nazi killin' for,"he humored. I rose an eyebrow and I didn't lighten my expression. He added wth a more serious tone,"It's just...I've never seen him pass up the chance to kill somebody."

I didn't want to tell him the real reason. That would have been really awkward. "Well, that's cause I used my feminine charm on him." I winked at him jokingly.

"I didn't know that men had that,"He remarked. This was why I hated him. I was so used to men kissing my ass because of either my looks or my stature, but he didn't care about that in the slightest bit. Maybe that was why I hated yet respected him so much.

I shook my head at him and walked past him. "So what's for breakfast?"I asked just as his stomach growled loudly. I smirked. It was good to know I wasn't the only one hungry. He put a hand over his stomach slightly embarrassed.

He replied, "Bread. Fish if we're lucky."

I sighed. Oh how I missed all of those gourmet meals that were cooked for me at the snap of my finger. "Sounds delicious,"I mumbled sarcastically as I sat down on the dirt. "So what's on the agenda for today, Aldo?"

"Stopin' at the closest town for supplies and gettin' rid of you there,"he answered bluntly. "Hopefully that can get done quick. We need to get down to business and the last thing we need if a stupid woman getting in our way."

"Excuse me?"I exclaimed jumping up from the ground jokingly rather than offensively only because I was too lazy at the time to argue with him. "I just hope that I don't run in to any problems there..." Quite the contrary, actually. I'd drop the note off to a german soldier really fast, then I'd make up an excuse to continue traveling with them. Easy as pie. At least I hoped that it would be. When it comes to these people, nothing was or ever would be.

"I doubt it,"he commented turning around and began walking in the direction of the stream with a metal bucket in his hand. "Hey, where are you going?"

"I'm goin' to get some fish,"he called over his shoulder not even bothering to stop and ask me if I'd like to accompany him.

I stood up and jogged to catch up with him. "I'm coming too!" No, I was not getting attached to him or something stupid like that, if that's what you were thinking. One look at Hugo who was nearby was one good reason to go with Aldo. Even being with Aldo was better than risking being killed and I resented the man.

"Great..."I heard him mutter.

"Hey, I didn't come just because I love spending time with you,"I assured him harshly. "I'm sure Hugo would murder me if I gave him the chance."

"What in the hell did you do to the guy?"he exclaimed in his laughter.

I punched his arm, not jokingly. "It's not funny!"I scolded. "I didn't even do anything to the guy! He's insane!" I said that kind of loud. I prayed that Hugo was too far away to hear what I said.

"I'd hate to be on his bad side." He looked down at me. "Aren't you lucky. But it's not like you'll be 'round him that long anyway."

That's what you think Aldo. "Good point." I looked up at him faking a smile. We reached the stream and I sat down and watched him as he rolled up his pants up to his knees and kick off his shoes as he walked in to the stream in search of fish. I sneered at the sight. It seemed so unsanitary. He didn't even have a fishing rod. He was going to grab fish with his bear hands. I visualized how nasty and slimy they would feel and I felt even more grossed out.

"Why don't you bring that bucket over here for me,"he demanded more than requested. I looked at him and saw he had a fish squirming in his fist. I frowned and reluctantly got up and held the bucket close to him as I could, refusing to step in to the water.

After he threw a few more fish in to the bucket, I commented cockily, "This doesn't look so hard."

"Then why don't you get in here and do it since it looks so easy,"he challenged.

I put the bucket down near the stream. "Fine, I will,"I agreed. I kicked off my shoes and rolled up my pants as well before stomping in to the cold running water. I could feel the fish sliding across my calves. I can't begin to describe how disturbing it was. Nevertheless, I didn't let that stop me as I mimicked what Aldo was doing, exept I retrieved no fish. They all ended up slipping out of my hands. Aldo didn't hesitate to laugh at me. I would have stopped after that, but I was really determined to show that I was capable of doing anything that he could, possibly even better.

"Just let it come to you. If you try takin' it by force, then it'll always get away,"Aldo advised. Wow, where did his best friend Sarcasm go? He was completely serious. There wasn't any hidden joke. I was actually very impressed.

"Fine." I did what he said, and surely enough I caught one fish. "I told you I could,"I grinned prancing out of the water proudly dropping it in to the bucket aloung with the other dieing fish.

"Only cause I helped you honey,"he said. He followed me out of the water. "Anyway, this is good enough for now."

Being an idiot, I stood at the foot of the water. When he was next to me he pushed me in to the water, not even trying to cover the fact that he did it on purpose. "Oops." He shrugged and slipped on his shoes. Thanks to him, now my pants were soaking. Thankfully my shirt hadn't gotten wet, especially since it was white. I hoped that wasn't the reason why he pushed me. I growled and jumped out of the water resisting all urges to kill him.

**AN: Welp, that's it. I hope u liked it! :) I'm gonna start working on building relationships and good stuff like that. I still don't know what guy to focus on because my narrowed down choices are Aldo, Hugo, Donny, and Smithson. I'm not sure how I'm going to do that yet. Put in the reviews which one u like the best and I'll just go with the one that has the most.**


	4. On edge

**AN: Finally got chapter 4 out! I feel like this one took a while sorry for the delay! . Btw thank you so much for the reviews! I've had so many stories where I got hardly any reviews, so I think it's awesome that I got this many for this story. Thanks guys! :)**

I sat at the hard ground where camp was set up, distanced from all of the basterds who were now awake and roudy. I had my eyes fixed on Aldo. Thanks to him my pants were sticking to me and were damp. I was still furious that he pushed me in to the stream and got me all wet. He didn't even bother to get me a change of clothes. I swear, I'd kill him...Thankfully, the note that I had written out earlier hadn't gotten wet.

I hadn't verbalized to him how enraged I was, but I'm sure that he was aware due to my body language. I had been giving him dirty looks and ignoring everything he said ever since he did it. However, he didn't seem to care. He brushed me off and had been avoiding communicating with me successfully. I hated that he didn't go out of his way to apologize to me. I was just so used to people, especially men kissing up to me when it comes to that stuff so I didn't know how to react. Should I go make up with him? I didn't have a clue, but I knew that there was no way in hell that I was actually going to. I hated that I couldn't be angry with him as long as I pleased. If I did then my mission would go straight down the drain and I wasn't going to let that happen.

Getting bored of acting hostile to someone who was ignoring me, I watched the other men cooking fish. I didn't bother to get up and get some for myself. I was hoping that one of them would be courteous enough to bring me some but I wasn't counting on it. It seemed like all of them despised me, excluding Smithson. He seemed to be struggling to cook the fish so I suppose I wasn't eating any time soon. I pulled my knees to my chest and buried my face in my thighs. I could feel the sun that had recently risen beaming on to my skin warming me up. I tried to ignore my stomach wouldn't stop growling.

"You hungry?" I rose my head slowly and saw Donny standing over me holding out fish that was stuck on a stick out to me.

I replied sarcastically,"What would ever make you think that?"

He shook his head jokingly and said, "How stupid of me. You don't look hungry at all!" He sat down next of me and handed me a fish. I ignored him as he watched me intently as I nibbled at my fish. I was really grossed out when I caught a whiff of his stench.

"You smell horrible! Could you, you know, move over?"I demanded sneering and covering my nose.

He decided to be a smart as and did the opposite of my request and moving closer to me. "As if you smell any better!"he snorted. I leaned back, but he continued to lean in toward me. Way too close for comfort. I feared that he going to either kiss me, or fall on me. I didn't want either of those to happen. I'd rather bathe in urine.

I was about to jump up to avoid either of those happening, but before I did, Hugo scolded him, "Donny. Stop being an idiot."Hugo looked at me for a moment before going back to what he was doing. I looked at him with my lips pressed together firmly. What was with him? Earlier he tried to choke me, and now he was defending me. I knew one thing for sure, which was, I wasn't going to confront him about it.

"What's got his panties in a bunch?"Donny muttered irritated under his breathe so that only I could hear him. "Not even Aldo said anything." I looked at him and saw his arms were folded and he was pouting.

I smacked my forehead. "You're just like a kid..."I sighed.

"And you love it. Feel free to admit it,"he humored. I shook my head and looked straight ahead at the rest of them and notice that Smithson was looking at us intensely. Mostly at Donny, but he wasn't really paying attention. His gaze then averted to me and I tilted my head giving him a questionable stare. He merely shook his head and looked away annoyed.

Great. I had an idea what that meant. He must have a crush on me or something silly like that. That's why he was glaring at Donny. That was something I wanted to avoid. I liked Smithson, but if he distracted me from what I needed to do, I'd be cruel to him if I had to. I just hoped that it wouldn't go that far.

"Looks like we're getting ready to go,"Donny told me with an annoyed sigh as he stood to his feet. I looked at the other basterds and saw that they were doing the same. They retreated to their tents to pack up their scarce belongings.

Just like that, I was alone again...but not for long. Aldo was the first to be finished. He sneered at me a moment before saying anything.

_***Aldo's POV_

She looked horrible. Besides the fact that her clothes were torn and drenched in blood, she looked like a wreck. Even though her clothes were wet and sticking to her, it didn't compliment her curves if she even had any. Her clothes were far to bulky to see anything. On top of that, her hair wasn't even cut evenly. I wouldn't have cared about that stuff as much if her personality made of for it, but obviously it didn't. In one word, she was too bitchy. I was really disappointed. When we first encountered her, I had high expectations that I'd enjoy the short amount of time that she'd accompany us, but I was ready to get rid of her already.

She put me on edge more than anything. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I knew that there was something shady about her. I could see it even in her eyes. It was like there was a demon behind them, waiting to break out. I was curious to see her secrets reveal, but I knew that it would become a distraction for everyone, especially me. We were all better off with her gone as soon as possible.

"You can't go in to a town like that...I'll see if Smithson will lend you some clothes. Maybe you'll fit in to his clothes,"I informed her and I went in to Smithson's tent. "Smithson, give me a shirt and pants or something for that girl to wear." His eyes lit up instantly and it was quite apparent. I stressed to him,"That doesn't mean she's going to have sex with you."

He objected flushed, "I wasn't thinking that!" I turned on my heal and headed to the truck. I walked right past the girl who looked bewildered at my behavior. She didn't bother to ask me anything. I sat in the driver's seat, tapping the wheel impatiently waiting for everyone to get ready.

_***Cecile's POV_

He was so stupid! How dare he walk past me as if I wasn't even here! He did _not_ know who I am! I swear, I was going to forget everything and just kill him. My wrathful thoughts were interrupted when Smithson came out of his tent carrying clothes. He said, "Aldo told me to give you this. You can change in there if you want."

I snatched the clothes from him and said absentmindedly, "Thanks Smithson." I brushed past him and went in to the tent to change. I changed in to a button up shirt which reached a little bit past my butt. It looked more like a dress on me. With that I wore a pair of his shorts that were longer on me and looked more like capris. I had to say, it was better than what I was wearing before that. Not having to check how I looked in the mirror, I walked outside. I saw that all of the tents were gone and it seemed like the rest of them were in the truck waiting for us.

I was too impatient to wait for Smithson, so I went in to the truck where everyone was. I was immediately overcrowded when I walked in through the back door. Aside from all of the junk, the guys took up majority of the space. I stood there awkward just trying to figure out where to stand.

"Gabrielle!"Donny called from the front of the truck. "Come up here!" I noticed Aldo cut his eyes at Donny and say something not audible for me. I was reluctant to sit near Aldo, but I suppose it had to be better than being squished in the back like a bug. I struggled to get up to the front where Donny and Aldo were because most of them were reluctant to move, especially Hugo. I had to practically straddle him to get past. Eventually, I did get up to the front and there was a huge difference. Mainly that there was actually space up there. It was clear that they were head of command in this team. Aldo was driving so I sat next to Donny in the large seat big enough for the two of us. I was basically sitting in the middle of them with a gap between Aldo and I.

"I didn't want you to get crushed back there,"Donny laughed pointing to the back of the truck.

"How thoughtful,"I complimented. "Thank you." I grinned trying to seem sincere, even though I didn't really care.

Aldo huffed as he started the truck, "Is everyone here?" They called back confirming everyone was. With that Aldo started driving off quickly.

"You look a lot better in that,"Donny commented looking down at me. I cut my eyes down for a sec and saw that there was a large enough gap at the top so he was probably peeking down my shirt.

I adjusted my shirt. "Why because you can look down my shirt now?"

"Don't flatter yourself honey,"Aldo mocked laughing mockingly. "You don't have anythin' there anyway..." I gave him the glare of death but he didn't even see it because he was looking at the road. What the hell was his problem? I knew that he wasn't so fond of me but now he was being plain rude.

Donny looked at the two of us, not sure if he should say anything. "No, I wasn't,"he denied. "I just meant that you looked better in clean clothes."

"In that case, thanks Donny,"I said relieved that he said something which calmed me down.

Majority of the ride was silent between the three of us because Donny understood that it wasn't wise to speak during my hostile moods. I was sure that that girl took the hint.

I hated that I could read her like a book. Being around her made me anxious and I hated that. I looked down at her and saw that she was fiddling with her hair which was cut unevenly. "How come your hair is cut like that?"I found myself asking curiously.

"Those Nazi bastards decided to chop off my hair after all that they did to me,"she told me frowning.

"Ya know, Donny's dad owned a barber shop, so he could probably help you out there,"I informed her, making eye contact with Donny. His face perked up. I don't know if it was just the idea of cutting her hair, or just his memories. Either way, I didn't care at the moment.

Aldo handed Donny a knife, and in normal conditions, that would make me really nervous, but not then. Donny instructed me to turn facing Aldo so that he could cut my hair easier. His fingers glided through my hair and closed my eyes sensually, aroused by the touch. I always liked the sensation of people touching my hair. I found it to be relaxing.

Cutting hair with a knife rather than scissors was strange. Instead of cutting with one stroke, it was like chopping up vegetables. Everywhere that he cut took multiple strokes. I looked down and saw hair falling on to the seat. Hastily, he pushed it on to the floor of the truck.

Since I was facing Aldo, I found myself looking at him. Honestly, he was very handsome. Even though I didn't exactly like him, I had to admit that much.

When he was finished, Donny announced running a his fingers through my now short hair, "It's shorter now, but now it's more even."

When he moved his hand away I touched my hair and saw that what he said was valid. I wasn't a fan of having such short hair, but it was better cut like this. At least it could grow back in evenly. "Thanks Donny. I like it a lot."

I smiled at him. "No problem,"he said bashfully, rubbing the beck of his neck.

To my surprise, Aldo grunted at me, "Looks nice."

"Thanks." I grinned at him. Even though I hated him, a compliment from him wasn't so bad. I adjusted myself in my seat so that I wasn't facing him.

"Say, Aldo. When was the last time we stopped in a town?"Donny asked Aldo.

"We're not goin' to be stoppin' in this town, if that's what you're trying to ask..."Aldo growled.

"But we really need to stop sometime, we might as well now,"Donny whined. "We need supplies...to bathe...a good nights sleep..."he listed holding up his fingers to keep count.

"We'll see Donny,"Aldo sighed sounding like he really didn't want to. That was actually really convenient for me when I thought about it. I didn't have to rush to do everything that I needed to.

**AN: Whelp that's the end of it. I've narrowed down the choices of guys and it's down to Aldo and Hugo. I'm probably going to focus on them equally, because I've gotten about equal votes for them. Kk, remember to review please! X)**


	5. a Night in Town

**AN:Hello my wonderful readers! :) I don't know how many of you are fans of Landa(I'm a huge one) but he's in this chapter! XD Enjoy!**

They arrived at the town of Bourges in the evening when the sun was beginning to set. Now it's been about a day since they've joined up with Gabrielle, and it appeared that they would depart from her soon. Each of them got out of the truck one by one and scattered off to complete a task made by Aldo to complete and meet at a certain location later that day. It was already nightfall, so Aldo figured that they may as well spend the night there. He wanted to be rid of the woman who they had been stuck with. He thought that one more night wouldn't hurt. He just hoped that she wouldn't insist tagging along with them any further. He noticed that a few of the men including himself were beginning to become attatched to her and in such a violent mission that they planned to follow through with, distractions weren't an option.

Aldo looked down at Gabrielle who had fell asleep leaning on Donny's shoulder. Currently, she didn't look nearly as big of a threat as she really was. To be fair, even the most destructive people looked harmless when they were asleep. Aldo looked up at Donny who didn't have any objection to Gabrielle sleeping upon him and scoffed, "Wake her up." Donny gave him a disappointed look. In response Aldo shook his head and got out of the truck. He stood outside leaning against the truck waiting for them to get out.

- - - - - - (Gabrielle's POV)

I hadn't even realized that I had fallen asleep until I felt Donny's strong arms shaking my shoulders and hollering at me. "I'm up, I'm up!"I whined. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and noticed that it was dark outside signifying that it was night. It seemed like I was only sleeping for a few minutes. "We're here already?"

"Yeah." Donny nodded and got out of the truck. For him it was just a step, but for me it was a jump so he was nice enough to help me down. He walked around to the other side of the truck where Aldo was and I stumbled beside him still not completely awake.

Aldo turned his attention to me and said, "You can probably stay in this town without any trouble. We'll be here til the mornin' so if you run in to any problems, you could find us. Here's some money so that you ain't dirt poor. "

I walked closer to him and took the money from him. "Thanks Aldo. For everything." I felt so phony, but it needed to done. It didn't matter as long as he believed it.

"Don't worry about it,"Aldo shrugged.

"Bye Gabrielle,"Donny said and pulled me in to a bone crushing hug.

"Bye Donny!"I gasped trying to get oxygen in to my body.

"Take care,"Aldo grunted sounding like he forced himself to say that much.

"Goodbye!"I yelled as went in opposite directions of town. It was so awkward for me to say bye when I knew that I would reunite with them before long. I just didn't know how exactly I was going to convince them to let me continue traveling with them...

Before I did, there was some things that I had to attend to first. First of all I needed to get to a phone. I still had that note, but it wasn't of great use anymore since I had more clear information. It was faster to call him anyway. However, before I did do that, my personal needs came first. I wanted to eat and buy a change of clothes. I almost looked like a boy, since I was wearing men's clothes and had my hair cut so short. I decided to buy new clothes so that I would look presentable when I went out to eat.

Since Aldo hadn't given me a huge amount of money, I had to go somewhere that wasn't very pricey. I was less than pleased about that. All of my clothes back home were from the most expensive and elegant stores. Hans only bought me the best. I walked around the store eying every item with disgust. I hated all of this stuff. It was too low class for me. Nevertheless, I did find one thing. It reminded me of a gift a friend bought for me one time, except not nearly as nice.

Seeing that it was getting late, I rushed to purchase it and change in to it. It was a standard pale pink blouse which was a v-neck and short sleeved. With that I wore a brown skirt that came down to my knees. However, I rolled them up from the top so that they came to my mid thigh. I ended up buying a bow for my hair with all of that.

Holding Smithson's clothes under my arm, I scurried to find a diner that I could afford to buy something from with my remaining money. I didn't have very much left over from what Aldo had given me, so I had to use it wisely.

I went in to the cheapest diner that I could find. I sat at a table alone at the window and waited for my order to come. I looked out the window and smiled to myself as I reminisced of the first time I met Hans Landa. It was at a diner similar to this. That destined day changed my life forever...

_I was working at a diner in Paris in the evening. It was the last job I had before I met him. My mouth watered as I stared at the tasty dessert of strudel and creme as I placed it on to a table in front of a man. I looked up at him staring in to his vibrant blue eyes, mesmerized. A smile graced his lips as he thanked me speaking in french. I nodded and turned heading to back to the kitchen. _

_ "Wait Madam!"he called. I turned and looked back at him. I hadn't time to stand around. There were other customers to tend to. "Would you care to keep me company while I eat?"_

_ "Yeah,"I replied with sarcasm. "If I want to lose my job!"_

_ "I assure you that you won't. If your manager is angry, I'll speak to him. Now come." He motioned with his hand for me to come back to him. I walked back to the table doubtfully and stood in front of him. He pointed at the seat across from him. _

_ I did as told and took a good look at him as I did. He looked like an older man, possibly early forties. To go with his blue eyes, he had light brown hair. His face showed little signs of aging. For an older man, he was very attractive. He smiled up at me as he ate his strudel. I smiled back, unsure what to say. _

_ "You seem so unhappy,"he noticed sullenly. _

_ I wondered how he could have determined that. I was smiling constantly to hide it, to attract customers. I hadn't frowned once, even though that's what I felt. "How could you tell?" I gave up on trying to seem cheery and dropped the smile and let it fall in to a frown._

_ "It's all in your eyes. You can tell what anyone is thinking just by looking in to their eyes. Your eyes seem lifeless, so it was obvious,"he explained. "Why are you so sad?"_

_ "It's just this job. It gets to me sometimes..."I answered looking down at my hands which were twiddling on the table top. _

_ "You shouldn't let it bother you so much,"he told me. "Here. Have some strudel." He held it out in front of me on a fork. Just like feeding a baby, I ate it off of the fork as he held it. _

_ I grinned after I swallowed it, "It's delicious." _

_ "You sound as if you've never had it before."_

_ "That's because I haven't,"I giggled. "A restaurant like this would never give it to me for free even though I work here. They barely pay me in the first place. Plus, I can't afford to use my money here. I have too many bills to pay."_

_ "I see."he nodded. "So you live alone?" I nodded in response._

_ I looked down at his shirt and noticed that he was a Nazi. I saw all of the badges on it. It seemed that he was an important man. Although, I couldn't care less about that war going on. I wasn't involved in it, nor did I plan to be. _

_ I replied to him, "Yes. I moved out of my parents house and came to Paris. I thought it would be fun, but at this rate, I may end up going back to live with my parents."_

_ "You shouldn't give up so easily. Surely things will get better for you,"he assured me. At the time I didn't believe it, but it what he said was absolutely true. After I met him, my life became nearly perfect. _

_ "If you don't mind me asking, do you speak english?"he inquired._

_ "I do."_

_ "Would you mind switching to english? My french isn't the greatest,"he said._

_ I complimented switching to english as he requested,"What are you talking about, your french is perfect!"_

_ "Oh, you flatter me!" _

_ There was a moment of silence before I asked timidly looking down at his jacket, "What exactly do you...you know, do?"_

_ "I am a detective,"he told me proudly. "I search for jews."_

_ I nodded and noted, "You seem a lot better off than someone like me." _

_ "No, no..." He just didn't want to be rude and admit it. "How silly of me! I haven't even introduced myself! Col Hans Landa." _

_ "My name is Cecile,"I introduced myself. He gingerly grabbed my hand an pulled it to his lips and gently kissed the back of it. I looked in to his eyes as he did. He had a charisma that I was instantly attracted to. _

_ "It's a pleasure to meet you Cecile. You're very beautiful." He lowered my hand to the table and let go of me and I wish he hadn't. His touch felt so pleasant. _

_ "Thank you,"I beamed. My looks was the only thing I had going for me. I wasn't very talented in many things that were actually useful so I was always glad to be complimented on that. _

_ After that day he came back to the diner at least once a week just to converse with me. After some time I realized how influential he was in the war so I made sure to become and stay close to him. Like he said, things were going to get better for me, and they did. Thanks to him, I was able to live in a life of leisure. Rather than working at a stupid diner, he got me a job modeling, and I've been living with him for a long time. _

When my food was finally was served I scarfed it down quickly. I ordered only soup because it was the only thing that I could afford. Afterward, I asked to use a phone. It was in the back of the diner, near the kitchen. It was actually a good thing because no one would listen to my conversation back there. It wasn't exactly the information that you would scream across the room for everyone to hear.

After a few moments of the phone ringing in my ear, an unfamiliar voice finally answered. "Will you put Hans Landa on the phone?"

"Who is this?"The voice demanded.

I hissed lowly, "Cecile."

The person was silent for a moment, in thought before they said, "One moment."

"Cecile?"Hans's voice cooed from the other end.

I smiled at the sound of it. Finally, a familiar fa-voice. "Hans, it's me-"

He cut me off, "Cecile! How are you doing? Did your mission begin successfully?"

"Naturally,"I scoffed. "Listen. I have some information." I waited a moment to be sure that he was paying attention. I wasn't very fond of repeating myself. "The basterds and I are in Bourges. They're going to head to Paris after today."

"Marvelous!...Are you going with them?"he inquired taking a serious tone all of a sudden.

"I'm working on it. It's not as easy as it seems,"I replied uneasily.

He instructed me sternly,"Cecile, you have to stay with them as long as possible. It's only been a day since you've been with them. You can do better."

"I know Hans,"I sighed. "I never said that I wasn't."

"Do they like you very much Cecile. That will make your mission a lot easier."

"It's hard to say,"I fibbed. I knew that almost all of them hated me and was probably relieved that I was gone for the moment. "They'll come around. Well, I'll make them, I should say."I giggled at my own humor.

"Stay focused, Cecile,"He warned me. "Anyway, how are _you _doing?"

It made me happy that he remembered to ask about my well being. "I'm doing okay. It's just that they're stressing me out a little bit. Especially Aldo. He sure is a character, to say the least."

"Well I never told you that it was going to be easy, but just think about the awards that you'll get from doing this. It'll all be worth it in the end,"he promised trying to encourage me.

"That's right..."

"I'm sorry Cecile, I have to go now. Good luck with the rest of your mission."

"Thanks. I love you,"I whispered. I just wanted to hear somebody say that they loved me. I heard that said to me in a long time. At least it felt like a long time to me.

"I love you too. Bye, love." I heard the phone being hung up from the other line. I sat there just wishing that he would come back on to the phone so that I didn't have to go back to the basterds. Knowing that he couldn't, I hung up the phone and left the restaurant in search of finding the basterds.

**AN: Welp that's the end of chapter 5! Hope you all liked it. Sorry there wasn't as much of the basterds in it, but I felt like her past and such needed to be done. I have to ask, do you guys like Landa? I know he's sort of old, but he's adorable though! XD Anyway, review please! :)**


	6. Kiss

**AN: Sorry that it took me forever to get this one out. I've been really busy lately and on top of that my computers have been having problems with the internet. -_- So this chapter is on the short side because of that. Enjoyy!**

I felt the warm night winds hit me as I wandered down the streets of the town in search of a basterd. I didn't care which on eI found, I just needed to recover at least one of them. I carried Smithson's spare clothes that I had borrowed earlier under my arm with me. Of course I had to return them to him. I owed him that much at the very least.

I still hadn't thoughtup an excuse to continue traveling with them, and I was very worried about that. I couldn't let something as insignificant as that ruin my mission. Surely I'd manage to come up with something!

I was beginning to give up hope but that's when I saw my chance. I spotted Hugo. Nearby was a group of German soldiers. None of them had been aware of my presence yet. That was perfect! I'd lie to him saying that those were the villians in my fairytale that I told the basterds the other day. That should work out smoothly.

I trotted up to him and grabbed his arm and fretted to him, "Those are the ones who took me! Their bound to recognize me!"

He looked alarmed by my mere presence. I suppose he thought he was going to be rid of me by now. I hope that I dissapointed him. Recovering from his shock he said passively, "They might recognize me too..."

"Then why are we just standing here! There's no telling what they'll do if they recognize us!"I cried and grabbed him by the hand and dragged him in to an alley where it would be difficult, but not impossible for them to spot us. However, we got there just in time before they could get a good look at us. I honestly didn't want them to see me. If they got a good look at me, I'm sure that they would realize who I really was. I was very well known amoung the Germans. I'm positive they would start a friendly conversation with me, thus ruining the whole plan. Since Hugo was with me it would all go downhill. I didn't want to get stuck in a confrontation. I wanted to avoid that as long as possible.

"Now what are we supposed to do?"Hugo demanded folding his arms histily. "Hide here like rodents?"

I snapped at him with my hands on my hips, "What else would we do? What if they recognized on of us? I'm sure that they wouldn't want to sit down and have a tea party with us!"

He responded with a glare but didn't say anything because I was right which caused me to smile smugly. I looked in the direction that the soldiers were in and saw that they were peeking in our direction, beaming with curiousity. How stupid of me! Of course standing in an alley like this seemed out of the ordinary! I looked down the alley and saw that it was a dead end, so I did the first thing that I thought of to lower their suspicions.

I slid my hand behind his neck and pulled his head down to my level so that our lips collided. As attractive as he may be, I didn't do it to fufill my desires. I only did it so that for one, our faces couldn't be seen easily. Secondly so that we wouldn't look fishy. To my surprise he went along with my fiasco and kissed me back, making our little scene seem realistic. I just hoped that he wouldn't get the wrong idea. Sure, I would admit that I was attracted to his looks, but I would never be interested in someone like him. I often feared that he would go beserk and snap my neck.

I opened one of my eyes and peeked to see if they were still watching us. I didn't see them so I assumed that they went on their mery way. I pulled away from him and breathed anxiously, "They left. That was a close one..."

He stared at me dead in the eyes. I recognized the look in his eyes. It was the expression of desire. Before I could process what was going on, I was pushed firmly against the wall and we shared a kiss again. Now I regretted kissing him in the first place. I realized that the basterds had little interaction with women during their operation. It was only natural for him to seize the opportunities that they had.

Nevertheless, despite how appauled I was, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back. I hated that I was actually enjoying this. I guess it was alright as long as I didn't become genuinely attatched to him, right? It was only going to give me an edge in my mission. At least...That's what I was telling myself. I wondered how Hans would react if he knew that I was doing this. That's when my heart sunk and I realized how wrong I was for enjoying this.

Thankfully, the gesture didn't last long before he pulled away abruptly. I stared up at him indifferently and he down at me with a smirk. He grunted and stalked off out of the alley with his hands in his pockets. I trailed behind him like a stray dog.

We began walking in the roads and he inquired to me, "What do you plan to do here?"

"There's no way in hell that I'm staying here!"I rose my voice then lowered it abruptly. "Well, I mean because of those soldiers. They'd recognize me right away, and if they do,..I'm sure that they'll kill me."

"So you plan to continue traveling with us?" I could've been imagining things, but I thought I heard some hopefulness in his tone. I nodded up at him.

"I wonder what Aldo is going to say..."Hugo pondered imagining it humorously.

"Ug..."I grumbled. "He definately hates me."

"Are you slow or something? There's no way that he does."

I roared, irritated by just the thought of the man, "I'm positive he does. Unless he's like a child and has to make fun of people to show that he likes them!"

Hugo didn't respond, and I got the hint that I was annoying him so I was silent the rest of our walk. I didn't want to get choked...again.

He lead us to a motel. Either he was under the expression that I was going to have sex with him, or the basterds were staying here. More than likely, the second one. I laughed to myself at the first thought.

**AN: I haven't gotten very much reviews lately, It depresses me :( Anyway, this was a good chapter for all of the Hugo fans X) aah gotta love him. Sorry about the shortness of it...Please review! :)**


	7. Hotel

**An: Hello wonderful readers! :) I feel like my updating pace is going to be once a week. I always have trouble writing when I get in to the middle of a story, I end up having trouble writing it. Eh, maybe just this chapter, I can't tell yet. Anyways, enjoy! :)**

***Aldo's POV

It was ten at night. I was sitting at a small circular table playing cards with Donny to kill time while we waited for the rest of the basterds to return back. We had been staying at a motel for the night and planned to leave first thing in the morning. We deserved to treat ourselves to a comfortable night. We've been working hard ever since we've gotten in France. We got the biggest room, but we were still going to be squished. On the bright side, it beat camping out.

"It's kinda lonely now without that girl,"Donny stated breaking our silence.

I looked up from my cards at him cutting my eyes. I knew that he was attached to her...but I had to admit that it was lonesome without er'. There was nobody here who would dare snap rude remarks at me. She sure was different. She didn't seem to be afraid of anything. Either she was plain stupid, or she didn't care about consequences. She got on my nerves cause of that, but I couldn't hate her cause of it. She was only a woman after all.

"We're better off with her gone. She was a distraction, and on top of that, she was fuckin' annoyin',"I scoffed, placing my card down, beating him in the game causing him to scowl at me.

"I don't know. I sorta liked her, and she sure was pretty,"Donny mentioned absentmindedly. He seemed to be fantasizing about her.

"So you've got a thing for twelve year old boys?"I mocked him as I gathered all of the cards in a neat pile

Donny's face scrunched up in disgust and he thought about it for a moment. His face relaxed and he pestered further,"You can't say that she's ugly just because you hate her. Even _you_ have to admit that she's pretty." Donny put his elbows on the table and leaned forward with interest.

"Well, even if she _was_ pretty, it's not as if she has a nice body or anythin',"I pointed out, purposely trying to crush his high opinion about her.

"Now that's not fair!"he argued. "She's been wearing baggy clothes the whole time. That would only be fair to say if you saw her naked." I narrowed my eyes at Donny who had a huge grin on his face. No doubt he was trying to imagine the thought.

"I'm sure you'd love to see that Donny. You wanna have sex with her or somethin'?"I teased him, becoming annoyed that he kept talking about her in a positive way.

I smirked to myself when I saw his face flush. "No!"he whined sounding uncomfortable. "I was just saying..."he added in a mumble.I shook my head at him.

I cocked my head up in the direction of the door when I heard it creak as it opened. Hugo walked in and huddled behind him was that woman, Gabrielle, to my surprise. But should I really have been so surprised? I had a feeling that since we decided to stay the night, she'd be back. I was expecting it, but I was hoping that it wouldn't really happen.

"Look what the cat dragged in..."I muttered to Donny. Hugo didn't say anything to us and immediately went to sit on the couch and light a cigarette. Meanwhile, the woman stood in the doorway grinning at Donny and I sheepishly. She looked...better. A whole lot better to say the least. Her hair looked neat now and even had the nice touch of a ribbon in it. She wore a pale pink blouse that reached her mid arm, and I found my eyes attach to her nice sized breasts. So she did have some...My eyes continued to travel until they then became attached to her legs. She was wearing a brown skirt which was rather short and only reached her mid thighs. I wouldn't tell Donny, but he was right about what we were arguing about minutes ago. My judgment was clouded before, but now since she was cleaned up and such, she was a rather attractive woman. Of course I wasn't going to tell anyone I thought so. There were just some people I just refuse to compliment. Simple as that

She greeted us in a singy song voice,"I'm back..." She approached us and didn't stop walking until she was standing directly in front of me so close that her legs were touching my knees. While standing in that position, she looked like she was about to give me a lap dance. Of course I didn't budge. She was a decently attractive woman, and I wasn't gay, so I didn't care.

"Now why are you here?"I asked and I noticed my tone was unintentionally softer. She sure knew what she was doing. All she needed was to look presentable and use some charm, and any man would be nice to her, but I wouldn't let her win that game so easily. Maybe Donny would, but not me.

I looked up at her blue eyes as she stared down at me and staring at me right in the eyes and explained, "I ran in to those Nazis earlier. The same ones that took me that one time."

"What do you want me to do about that, honey?"I asked her coming off cold, just like how I wanted.

She shifted on her feet and bit her lip. "Well, I can't stay in this town, can I?"she challenged cocking an eyebrow.

I furrowed my eyebrows at her and I replied, "I suppose not honey...but what do you expect me to do about it?" I knew what she was hinting at,but I was purposely forcing her to actually say it. I refused to pamper her like how everyone seemed to do.

A smirk emerged on her nearly flawless face. "Well..."she paused, fishing her mind for the appropriate words. "I've already been traveling with all of you, so I thought...why don't I just continue?"

I laughed loudly at her sarcastically. I reminded her fiery, "Honey, among the basterds isn't exactly the best place for a woman like you!"

"What am I supposed to do now then?"she whined obnoxiously. "Look. I'm not asking to join your little team. All I want is to be dropped off at a different town. That's all I'm asking."

Even to me, that seemed rational. "Let's just get one thing straight, honey...If we decide to let you tag along, you can't expect us to be responsible for you. We ain't going to bust our asses to protect you or anythin' like that, understand?"I explained to her sternly.

She waved her hand in the air, dismissing what I said. "Yeah, yeah. I get it! And would you quit calling me honey?"

"I'll call you whatever I want to call you."

Donny giggled at that, "Sounds kinky!"

I ignored him and added, "You've got to remember, _you're_ traveling with _us_. Not the other way around."

*** Cecile's POV

Everything was going as planned. I was relieved, but not surprised. All I needed was some charm to get him to cave in to my request. It was rather easy, especially since I've had years of practice.

Now the next order of business was to figure out how to stay with them even longer. I knew the same excuse that I used today would be useless. Of course I had time to figure it out. There was no telling how long it would take to get to the next town. I just hoped that it would be a long time. Aldo stood suddenly rose to his feet and we were now standing on each other's toes. Now, it was his turn to look down upon me. We both remained where we were,idle. We were equally stubborn so it seemed that we reached a stale mate. I fussingly folded my arms across my chest, and my forearms were touching his chest. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Donny stand up and enter the danger zone. I didn't take my eyes off of Aldo. "Down tiger,"he chuckled. Donny wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me and moved me out of Aldo's way. Aldo walked past us and toward the windows. Donny released his grip from me but his hands still lingered. Aldo and I weren't acting hostile in a serious manner. The best way I could describe it was like two cubs play fighting.

I walked past Hugo who was sitting on the couch smoking, not paying attention to any of us. I stood next to Aldo and stared out the window next to him. The air slipping in through the window which was cracked blew my hair off of my hair off of my face gently. I closed my eyes and sighed to myself softly. Seemed like it was the calm before the storm, as some would call it. I had a feeling that this would be the only one of the few times I could relax. I had a feeling that tomorrow was going to be hectic. I wasn't quite sure if I was looking forward to it or not.

I brushed the idea off and stared outside, mesmerized by the way the bright lights seemed to light up the city like stars in the night. The streets were vacant for the most part. Of the people who were still out, they seemed to be hurrying home.

I averted my gaze up at Aldo and he looked so serene. I guess he was feeling the same way I did. Wanting to relax before everything became irrational. He looked down at me when he noticed I was staring. "It's nice, isn't it?" I looked back out the window.

"I guess, if you're in to that stuff..."he grunted. I should've known someone like him couldn't appreciate the small things like a gorgeous night like that one.

I sighed and walked across the room and sat down on one of the chairs near Donny. My head perked up when I heard the door creak and a few of the basterds walked in. Over the course of the night, more and more walked in and room became more and more cramped. Each of them stared at me in confusion, but didn't say anything.

I didn't know which was worse;The fact that all of them were stuck in this room not big enough for everyone, or the fact that I was stuck with them. I thought that the second one was worse, but that's just my opinion.

Soon enough, Smithson entered the room. His face lit up when he gazed around the room and saw that I was present. I smiled at him and grabbed the clothes that I had placed on the table earlier. He approached me and kneeled down in front of me. He stated relieved, "I didn't think I'd see you so soon."

I hugged his clothes close to me. "Neither did I." I giggled. I held out his clothes to him. "Thanks for letting me borrow these."

"No problem." He grinned as he took them from me and our fingers grazed each other. I sat there with Smithson for a while simply chatting about the most insignificant things. None of it meant anything, but it did calm my nerves.

As the night dragged on, I noticed that it was near midnight. I also noticed that there weren't nearly enough beds to fit us all. I figured that the guys would share the beds since there were enough for most of them, and then one on the couch, but there were still not enough sleeping areas. Maybe I'd have to sleep on the floor. I wasn't exactly interested in sharing a bed with any of them.

"I'm hittin' the bed. Keep it down guys,"Aldo announced as he stretched, and then he headed in to one of the bed rooms. Most of them soon filed out of the main room and in to bedroom. To my surprise they all seemed to fit in to the beds of the bedrooms. The only ones that were left were Smithson, Hugo, and myself.

"Where are you going to sleep?"Smithson asked curiously.

Hugo interfered, "She's sleeping in here with me." Smithson looked like he was going to say something, but he hesitated and remained silent. Hugo added, "There's no more room in the bedrooms for me and her."

Smithson nodded and muttered to me, "Goodnight."

"Night,"I whispered back. I watched out of the corner of my eye and Hugo moved from a sitting position to a laying one. He turned his head to look at me.

"Turn out that light,"he demanded.

"Sure..."I muttered wearily. I stood up and did what he told me. Once I turned out the lights it was pitch black. I blinked a few times and tried to adjust to the darkness. I stumbled around the room in search of the chair that I was sitting in just then.

"Come here,"Hugo called through the darkness.

"Huh?"

"You don't plan on sleeping on the floor do you?"he tested me.

"I guess not,"I answered unsurely. I followed where I heard his voice come from. It seemed that the couch was big enough for the two of us. I layed down next to him with my back facing him. I made myself comfortable by using my hands as a pillow. When I was beginning to doze off, I felt Hugo's hand travel on to my hip. I was so out of it that in the back of my mind, I thought that it was Landa. For a couch, it wasn't so uncomfortable as I thought it would be, especially since I was under the impression that it was Hans laying next to me in my distant thoughts.

**An: Not very much happening in this chapter, but the next one is going to have more going on. I just wanted to point out that I always appreciate constructive criticism. It's been a while since I've gotten them. And remember to review guys (please) :) It helps me update quicker.**


	8. Becoming what I am

**AN:Hola readers! Thanks for reviewing so much, it helps me a lot! :) Keep it up. Anywhoo, enjoy the chapter!**

The next time I awoke, I found myself on a hard surface. I opened my eyes dreadfully and found that I had fallen off of the couch in my sleep. I stretched my neck and saw that Hugo had taken up all of the space on the couch. Chances are that he pushed me off in his sleep.

I rolled over on the floor and tried to get compfortable on the floor and fall back asleep. After a few minutes, I realized that I wasn't falling back asleep anytime soon. I was annoyed because it was still so early. The sun hadn't even risen yet. I sat up and tried to think of something I could do to kill time. I saw that there was a bathroom. Well, that would have to do. I stood up and went in to the bathroom. I closed the door and made sure the door was locked before I stripped myself of clothing. I thought I might as well take a shower. Now that I think about it, I can't remember the last time I bathed. That thought made me appaled at myself.

I shivered as I stepped in to the shower floor nude. It was quite chilly in there. I didn't hesitate to turn on the hot water. I felt my skin cease crawling and my body stop quivering from the outside air. Facing away from the shower I rolled my neck back and allowed the water to soak my short hair and beat upon my back. I hadn't even used soap yet, but I felt a million times cleaner.

I washed my hair with shampoo and conditioner that had been in the shower, most likely supplied by the hotel. After that I washed myth self thoughrouly with soap. After that I ended up just standing there, enjoying the touch of the warm water against my tender skin.

However, like all good things tend to do, my comfort came to an end when the warm water gradually became cold. I hurried to get out of the shower to escape the cold. I snatched a towel off of the floor and dried myself off with it. I put back on my same outfit I had been wearing earlier. I didn't have anything to brush my hair with so I just put the ribbon back in. I let my hair air dry since I didn't really have a choice. I finished getting myself ready so quickly. I missed doing all of the exess stuff like applying make up and doing my hair when it was actually long. I couldn't wait till my whole mission was over so that I could return to my pampered, easy life.

I was just about to leave the room and I could hear ruckus coming from the other side. I guess they were awake. I walked out of the bathroom and saw that the basterds were halfway out the door. "Hurry up or else we're leavin' without you, hun,"Aldo warned me as he left the hotel room.

"Coming!" I rushed to slip on my shoes. I jogged to catch up with the ones who were ahead, cutting a few of them off in the process. I didn't want to struggle to get a seat in the truck again. I got in through the back door like how everyone one else had, and I scampered to get to the front seats. I didn't have to crawl over anyone because it wasn't packed yet. Aldo and Donny had already been sitting up there comfortably as if they were there for a while.

"Great..."Aldo muttered sarcastically. I plopped down in the seat next to Donny like I had last time.

Donny greated me optimistically,"Hey."

"Hi." I smiled at him. Aldo turned hs body to look in the back of the truck.

"Is everyone here?"he asked loudly. When it was confirmed that everyone was present, he started the truck and began driving.

Donny looked down at me and informed me optimistically, "Looks like you're going to get to see some classic Nazi killin'." I looked down at his lap and noticed that he had his baseball bat laid on his lap. I've heard so many rumors about the bear jew. I wasn't so eager to see if they were all true. I made sure that my face didnt show any signs of being disturbed. I was hoping on not seeing that. It was going to be weird since I was on the Nazi side. On top of that, I wasn't much of a gore person.

"Really? How nice."I tried to sound hopeful. "When?"

Aldo intervened in an oddly good mood, "Yesterday, we heard that we should run in to a truck full of em' if we continue on this road."

"What exactly are you guys going to do?"I asked coming off pretty awkward, but I didn't mean to.

Aldo answered proudly, "Well first we're going to squeeze some information out of em'. Donny's goin' to have some fun with the ones who don't cooperate."

"That sounds busy,"I stated and resisted to mention how stupid it seemed to me.

He rubbed the prickles on his chin thoughtfully. He looked from the road at me and asked, "You wanna' make yourself useful?"

"Depends. What do I have to do?"I asked narrowing my eyes at him suspiciously.

"Get their truck to stop,"he proposed simply.

I scoffed at him, "And how do you expect me to do that?"

"It's not _that_ hard honey! All you have to do is stand there...No, why don't you pretend that you're hurt or something? That'll make them stop,"he pondered very indecisive.

"Fine,"I sighed. "I'll do it."

"Great hun,"he complimented almost sounding sarcastic. I decided to not yell at him for calling me hun and honey. If I fussed every time he did, I'd be screaming all day. It wasn't worth it.

Aldo pulled up to the side of the dirt road and pulled the keys out of the ignition. Everyone disbanded from the truck with guns, for the most part. I was the last one to exit the truck. I began to follow where majority of the basterds were going, but Aldo held his arm outward to me signaling for me to stop. "Why don't you go over there and practice?"Aldo suggested pointing at the dirt road.

I sighed and turned on my heel. From the road, I watched as the basterds went in to the surrounding forest and took cover so that they couldn't be seen easily. They hadd maximum cover because they were standing on a hill and they were hiding behind trees. It was nearly impossible to see them from down where I was.

Aldo scanned the area and made sure everything was in place before he turned to me. He said, "Be ready. We don't know when they're gonna come."

I nodded halfheartedly and went to lay down on the ground, sprawled. Next time I looked back in at where they were, I couldn't see them at all. No wonder so many of the Nazi trucks were getting ambushed. Hans always mentioned how they would steal the suppplies,and then kill the ones who didn't cooperate. However, the ones who did cooperate weren't much better off. They were sent off with a scar of the shwa sign on their foreheads. I saw a man with that one time. I couldn't imagine how terrible it would be to be stuck with that on thier heads. I remember Hans was alway ranting about how they did this. Now I was really curious if what Hans's stories were an exageration or if they really were as horrid as he made them seem.

Before long I heard that familiar noise of a truck rumbling against the dirt road. I allowed my body to become limp. I rested my head on my arm, which I had streched out, and I made sure my face wasn't facing the truck. I was paranoid that if they got a good look at my face, they'd be able to recognize me.

I heard the truck come to a stop. Deja vu. It was just like the first time I met the basterds. I heard them speaking about me in german. They were trying to figure out if I was dead or alive. One of them got out of the truck and rolled me over with his foot so that I was facing him. I let my eyes rolled open and I looked past the soldier standing over me and saw one of the basterds go behind the truck and slash one of the tires in the reer and then went to the other one.

The German man rose an eyebrow and asked me speaking in german, "What are you doing here?"

I rose to my feet and brushed myself off as I scoffed to him, "Setting you up for the basterds." His eyes widened in disbelief. he didn't even have time to try strangeling me because he was shot suddenly before he could even process all of it. I stepped to the side before his body could fall foward on to me. I looked up and saw the men in the truck and saw that they slammed the door which was opened and tried to drive off. Thanks to Omar, they weren't getting anywhere because of the two flat tires.

Taking the initiative, I yelled at them aggressively, "You're surrounded. Get out of the truck now! No weapons, and put your hands behind your heads." I don't really know why I did that. I was on their side afterall. I suppose it was helpful in my mission, but was that really why I did it? It's not as if Aldo told me to. I was supposed to be bait and nothing more.

Deep down I wasn't fond of the Germans. Afterall, what would've happened if I was a ethnicity or religion that they weren't so fond of? Like what if I was jewish? I would've been dead by now. The only reason why I've never rebeled against them was because I've been very fortuitous for a long time thanks to them. Besides Landa, all of the Germans adored me because of my looks. When Landa came along I was treated like royalty or a movie star. I've never had what I'd consider real work since then, and on top of that everyone knew who I was over time because of Landa's ranking.

I felt almost like an intruder. I couldn't consider myself on either side. It made me feel like a traitor...That feeling made me feel like scum.

Nonsense! Where was my head? Why was I getting so fickle now of all times! I was going to complete my mission no matter what because it would be worth it in the end. I couldn't fathom all of the reward I'll recieve at the end of it. I didn't want to loose my nearly perfect lifestyle. I wanted it to only get better and I'm positive that it would. I shook my head and the thoughts along with it.

I looked in to the truck and saw that they were talking to each other, contemplating what to do about the prediciment that they were stuck in. "Now!"I hollered at them impatiently.

I saw them shutter and hesitantly got out of the truck hesitantly. I looked back in the general direction where the basterds were and I saw them standing at ease except for a few of them who had guns pointed at the Nazis as a precaution.

I watched Aldo walk down from the shelter of the forest. He nodded at me before turning to the Germans. "Howdy gentlemen!"he greeted eerily. "Would you be so kind as to stand over there on your knees?" His tone was so sarcastic that it lost it's humor.

One of them was fluent in english too and grunted, "Fuck you!" Before Aldo had a chance to say anything, the man was shot by one of the basterds.

"Any of you other ladies got something to say?"Aldo challenged cocking an eyebrow at them. They didn't say a word and looked back at him with a bewildered face. "So he was your translater..."Aldo muttered looking back at the man who was shot. "That's not a problem. Wicki, you up for some translatin'?" It was more of a statement than a question, but the one known as Wicki came down from the hill he was standing on. I was fluent in german, french, as well as english, but I didn't want Aldo to know unless he had to. Then, I'd have to make up more stories to make my fibs add up.

Aldo had them kneeling in a line with their hands behind their heads and began to speak to them one at a time. There was about ten of them. I walked by where Hugo was and sat down next to where he stood. He looked down at me expectingly.

I said to him tiredly, "This is going to be a long day..."

**AN:And that's it! :D I hope you liked it Now this story is getting some action! :) lol the next chapter is going to have more! :) so thats something to look foward to. Review pweasee! :)**


	9. The Golem within

**AN: I'm on chapter 9 already! :D Wow it went by fast! I didn't realize this before, but this chap is pretty short o.o Anywho, enjoy the chapter! **

"He's all yours Donny!"Aldo called to his comrade cheerfully. Donny who had been sitting on a tree stump with his bat layed across his lap jumped up with excitement and walked to where Aldo was with the Nazi soldier. Aldo grinned and moved away to stay out of Donny's way. I felt myself become nervous. I never thought that I'd witness the bear jew in action.

Donny didn't even hesitate to swing his bat swiftly at the man's skull, going on a rampage. The basterds surrounding the event cheered as if they were watching a baseball game. It was disgusting. They were so casual about it that you would've thought he was beating a mere straw dummy. It was so inhumane. He was no where near to being finished. He continued to clobber the man and I heard all of his bones crush as they were hit with each blow. I could hardly watch...yet I never looked away.

At one point I was positive that the man was dead, but Donny still continued. In a word, I was mortified. From what I knew of him, he was such a warm person. It was disturbing to see him act like a savage. I couldn't help but to wonder if I'd end up like that soldier if they ever discovered that I was a traitor. I was nearly traumatized by the thought.

I asked Hugo shakily, "...A-are you guys always this cruel?" Looking down from the hill where the German soldiers were, I saw one try scampering away. Instantly, Hugo shot him with the gun that he had pointed already prepared.

He looked down at me and said, "Of course. They deserve this."

"How could you? They're your own people...aren't they?"I questioned in disbelief, not able to comprehend how he was thinking."How could you possibly...betray them?" I felt awkward accusing him of being one when I was the _true_ traitor.

"That doesn't mean shit anymore. I refuse to be apart of a country doing things that I don't believe in,"He explained stubbornly. I felt like a coward after he said that. I didn't believe in anything that the Germans were doing either, yet I was still apart of them. After all, I was only going along with everything because it puts me in to a safe position. It sort of made me admire the basterds because they were going against such a powerful force. I didn't think that I'd ever be able to go against them like that.

"You're right..."I mumbled as I looked down at Donny as he went to try slaughtering another one, but Aldo stopped him, thankfully. I don't think I'll be able to watch that again.

"We've got to question him first Donny!"Aldo said chuckling.

"Are you okay?"Hugo asked skeptically. "I've never seen you like this."

I stood up and stood close to him stationary. "I suppose I will be,"I sighed. "Thanks for the concern." It was amazing how I used to be terrefied of him, but now I was speaking to him like an acquaintance. Now Donny was the one who I was worried about...

"You know...You don't have to sit here and watch this...I can tell you hate this,"Hugo suggested with haunting timidness.

I giggled. "No, I'm okay. I don't want Aldo to make fun of me."

"Suit yourself..."he muttered.

Within an hour all of the Nazis had been either shot or unluckily been thrashed by Donny. All except one. He looked like he was sweating bullets.

I saw that Aldo was talking to Wicki, discussing something. Aldo looked up at me and scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Gabrielle!"he called to me. I was pretty sure that he never called me by my name before. It was always hun, or honey for the purpose of pissing me off. Maybe he actually has some respect for me now. If he did, I'd be escatic. "Come down here!" I'd be even more happy if I actually _earned_ it, unlike how I get everything else.

"What does he want?"I groaned to myself aloud before heading down the hill.

"You've been full of surprises today. You want to do one more thing for us?"

"I might as well. I'm on a roll today..."I agreed slightly annoyed. "What do I have to do now?"

"You speak french, right honey?"he asked and I nodded to confirm it. "Listen, we need some info outta' this one. We know he knows somethin', but he won't squeal. You wanna'...take a shot at it?"

I debated it a moment. I knew that it would be beneficial if I did. I was positive I'd earn his full trust if I did this successfully, yet it would put my the germans in jeopardy...

"I'll do it,"I answered surely. I looked down at the german and hissed in french, "Follow me." He stood and I grabbed him by the arm and drifted away from the basterds were so that I could speak to him. If the basterds heard anything I was going to say to him, I'd be dead on the spot. I was sure that the man named Wicki knew french.

"Do you know who I am?"I questioned him putting my hands on my hips and looking up at him. He was shaking and I could see dried tears on his face. What a pansy.

"N-no,"he whimpered.

"Well maybe you would if you looked at me!"I hissed. "Take a good look!"

He pried his eyes from the ground and stared at me fearfully for a few moments before saying in recognizance, "Cecile...?"

"There you go. Now you're going to tell me what they want to know."

"B-but why! "He cried.

"It's part of Landa's plan. Now if you don't start talking, you're next on Donny's hit list!"I warned him becoming impatient.

"O-okay! Okay! That damn Apache wanted to know if there were any Nazis in the surrounding area. There aren't around, but there in the nearest town that's about five miles away.

"Interesting..."I muttered sinisterly. "When you get back, you've got to tell Landa absolutely everything that happened here today! Don't leave any details out! Got it?"I spat.

"Y-yes mam!"he stuttered nervously and even saluted me.

"You can go now,"I instructed him more calm. There was no use in trying to scare him even further. I watched him as he began to flee, but one of the basterds stopped him and dragged him back to where Aldo was.

"What are you doing!"I whined. "He just told me everything!"

"Did he?"he challenged as he slipped off the sheath to his large knife. I stared at him with wide eyes. "That may be true, but we have to brand him so everyone knows what he's been apart of..."

I watched anxiously as Donny grabbed the man's shoulders and held him down on the ground. The man's screams filled the air. I could hardly watch. Aldo was carving a swastika in to his forehead. I felt almost guilty. He might as well done the same to me once he was finished. I couldn't watch any longer. I turned and walked in to the forest covering my ears with my hands.

I turned my head to look at them once the screeching ceased. I saw the man sprinting through the trees in agony, tripping over his own two feet here and there.

Finally. All of their dirty work was done and I could finally relax. I walked back to where they were and they all gathered around where Aldo was standing, including me. Now what?

"Alright boys! Raid the truck!"Aldo ordered enthusiastically. All except Aldo and I headed in to the german truck.

I looked up at Aldo and asked in a sigh, "Are you always this cruel?"

He furrowed his brows at me and sneered. He asked answered harshly, "What? You want us to give them a lesson in humanity? Last I checked honey, they don't have any."

"Well you could've warned me! I wasn't expecting you to beat them to death! Or carve shit in to their heads!"I snapped at him.

He shoved me playfully. "Now you know!"he humored. "Now what did that guy tell you?"

"He said that there's a bundle of Nazis in the nearest town and that's in five miles."

"Was he telling the truth?"Aldo asked suspiciously.

I frowned unsurely. "I think so, but there's no way to really know."

"Well if he was wrong we'll just have Donny play baseball with you...If you know what I mean,"Aldo joked, but I found absolutely no humor. The fact that that I was terrified of Donny now made me angry.

"Whatever Aldo!"I spat and folded my arms.

He didn't reply because he was too busy looking at the truck to notice. Donny poked his head out of the door.

"Aldo, we should just take this truck instead. It's bigger and already has a bunch of stuff in it."

Aldo shrugged. "Fine. You've got to change the tires then!"

Donny nodded and went back in to the truck to tell the rest of them. By the time the tires were changed and everything was moved in to the new truck, the sun was setting. I followed the basterds in to the truck, not in a rush this time. I wasn't so worried about fighting for a seat this truck was far more spacious.

I chose not to sit in the front where Donny and Aldo were. For one, Donny scared the shit out of me now. I couldn't look at him now without seeing the golem within him, especially when blood was still visible on his shit, a reminder of what he did. I couldn't stand to look at him right now. Secondly, I didn't want to deal with Aldo's bull shit. Those two reasons were good enough for me to stay away.

Avoiding those two, I sat in the back of the truck and sat where Hugo was. I noticed that the basterds were more distanced from him. He was sitting on a crate so I sat down next to him on the floor. My guess was that they were fearful of him. Was I? Not any more. Of course, I used to be, but now he wasn't so intimidating.

"Why aren't you sitting up there in the front?"he asked me still looking forward solemnly.

I humored him, "I'd rather sit with you, love." There was no way in hell that I'd tell him the real reason why. I didn't need another one to make fun of me. He grunted at me and didn't reply. I grinned at him.

**AN: And that's all! :) I've got a question for you readers; Is my writing alright? Not the actual story, but the writing itself. I've been self concious about that lately. Anywho, feel free to let me know in the reviews if you want to. **


	10. Turmoil

**AN: Hello readers! Thanks for all of the reviews and story alerts I've been getting! :) This chapter is longer than the last one. I have a feeling that you guys will like this one. Enjoy! **

The truck rolled along the unsophisticated dirt road, rumbling as it went. It rolled over everything standing in it's path causing the insides of the truck to imitate the sounds of thunder. Everyone in the truck shifted and bounced around in their seats unintentionally, especially those who unluckily lacked seatbelts.

The inconsistant tumbling of the truck is what caused me to awake. I let my sleepy eyes close once again, trying to fall back asleep. For a constrained truck, I had slept quite easeful up to this point. I was in a sitting position, slouched over and leaning to my side on something warm as well as soft. Seeing as I was half asleep, I was under the impression that I was leaning against a pillow. It wasn't until a rough hand began stroking my cheek gingerly, was when I realized that it wasn't an object I was leaning upon. My eyes popped open in an instant. It was a person whom I was leaning against. Not just any person. Hugo Stiglitz. It was amazing how a mere few days ago I'd be fleeing at the sight of his shadow, but now I was snuggled up against him, immune to his intimidation factor.

I blinked a few times to get the sleep out of my eyes. I peered up at Hugo and took note of my surroundings. Hugo was sitting on a crate, so he was sitting higher than me, thus, I was leaning in to his stomach, or should I say abs. He had his arm tucked around my neck and navigated his hand to my cheek and grazed it gently.

He was looking straight foward at the wall with tired eyes. I couldn't tell if he realized that I was awake. Chances are he did. "Sorry Hugo." I sat up in a crouching position, and moved out of his grasp in the process.

"It's alright,"he mumbled. He sounded almost dissapointed, or maybe my ego was just assuming things again.

"So you're leaving tonight?"Hugo asked voided of emotion. He still wasn't looking at me and his lips curved in a sneer.

"What?"I asked in a panic. "Says who?"

He replied sounding just as irritated as I felt, "That's what Aldo was saying when you were sleeping..." I guess what they said was true. When you snooze, you lose, but this was no time for lame puns.

Now I was striked with a new problem. I didn't plan ahead for this. I didn't know what to do or what to stay to ensure that I stayed with them even longer. I should've thought about this earlier. Then maybe I'd have some sort of plan and wouldn't be distressed like this now. I couldn't let this end now. It was too early. I had to finish the mission that I started.

However, deep down, I knew that my mission wasn't the only reason I wanted to stay so close to them...I hated to say it, but I was becoming attatched. To all of them. Most of the basterds seemed like brothers to me. Although I was mildly tramatized by the thought of him still, especially Donny. Maybe I've been with them longer than I thought...

However, one of the basterds who I felt closer to that wasn't exactly the _brotherly_ connection. He was the one who I had been in the embrace of moments ago. I hated to admit even in my thoughts that I actually liked him and in fact, was attatched to him. I just felt so safe. Like no one could harm me as long as I was with him. With Landa, I _knew_ I was secure, but I didn't feel it. Hugo didn't need a high stature to show that he was powerful. All you needed to do was look at him and you'd be aware of how mighty he was. I couldn't say the same about Landa...

I felt the truck gradually slow up until it came to a halt. My eyes widened discreetly. Now what do I do? I needed time to devise a plan to ensure that I stayed with them longer, but there wasn't enough time.

"Looks like you're going now,"Hugo muttered. He sounded frustrated. I couldn't imagine why. Did he not want me to go either? Maybe he liked me as much as I did him. Another complication.

I had my eyes set on Hugo so intently that I didn't even notice Aldo making his way to the back of the truck where we were. I was feeling lousy enough, and he wasn't making me feel much better. If he would just look at me, that would relieve my worries even if only for a moment. All I needed was to see that strong look in his eyes.

A firm hand was placed on my shoulder. My head darted from Hugo and I looked to my side and saw that Aldo was standing behind me leaning foward, staring at me with a grin.

"You ready to go? Up the road a peice is a town. We drove even further just for you...So that you wouldn't be stuck in a town with Nazis."

I complimented half heartedly, "How thoughtful."

He slapped my shoulder lightly as he stood up completely. "C'mon." Reluctantly, I rose to my feet. I watched Aldo as he left the truck and expected me to follow.

I moved directly in front of Hugo to force him to look at me. I put my hands on my hips. I was thinking about yelling at him for acting so cold to me earlier, but I decided against it. "So this is it, I guess..." Just in case this was really the last time seeing him, I didn't want it to end on an angry note.

He sighed dissapointed, "Seems that way..." It was flattering to know that he cared though.

"See you around..."I mumbled and began to head out of the truck. However, I didn't get very far because Hugo grabbed my wrist to stop me from walking away from him. He yanked me toward him by my wrist and I ended up falling on to him so that I was sitting on his lap. I stared at him in awe, still not having my composure regained.

He smirked smugly at me, satisfied that he took me by surprise. I didn't have an opportunity to demand of him what kind of stunt he was trying to pull on me. Everything seemed to happen so quickly and I felt like I was moving in slow motion. He grabbed my chin roughly and pulled my face closer to his. Next thing I knew, our lips collided. For a moment I sat connected to him by our lips, motionless. My body reacted quicker than my mind because before I could think to pull away, I began to kiss him back.

Although this wasn't the first time we've kissed, this time I was starstruck. Last time we kissed, I felt nothing but repulsion, but now I felt like a jittery school girl who just recieved her first kiss. I even had butterflies in my stomach. It was so much different since now I actually develuped feelings for him.

I felt like such a fool for falling for one of the basterds. Falling in love wasn't part of my mission. In fact, it was something that was capable of foiling all of the plans that have been arranged.

What would Landa have thought of this if he knew? I felt like I've betrayed him now. I couldn't bear it. I was beginning to feel the same about a basterd and a sophisticated SS. officer. Compared to Landa, Hugo was only scum on the bottom of my shoe, so why is it that I care about him so much? I hated how it was impossible to really choose who you want to love. If it were possible, I wouldn't be feeling so much turmoil. All I knew was that I wasn't going to let my love for him be victorious without a fight.

We pulled away from each other abruptly when Aldo cleared his throat obnoxiously to get our attention. "Whenever you're ready, hun!" He sounded irritated. Maybe I was better off leaving now like this before my feelings for Hugo, or any of the others increased. Then I'll be able to tell Landa everything about then and sabatage them without feeling guilty.

"Bye Hugo,"I sighed. I didn't bother to say bye to anyone else because they were all sleeping. My eyes fell upon Smithson and I wanted to tell him by just in case I never saw him again, but of course he had been sleeping. Hopefully, I'd be able to come back, but I was sure that if I did, things would be so much harder for me.

Hugo nodded at me before I went. I couldn't help but to woder why he did that. The whole kiss thing. Maybe he wanted me to remember him by it. Surely I would if I didn't come back on the truck with Aldo.

When I got out of the truck I saw that he parked a distance from the town so we had some walking to do. "C'mon. I'll walk you there,"Aldo offered.

"What a gentleman,"I humored and smiled at him lifelessly.

He chuckled at me softly as we began walking. "Ya know..."he began. "I'm actually really impressed with ya. Earlier today I never woulda thought you'd be so...well, helpful...You did good."

I felt my face heat up and I knew my cheeks were turning red. "Thanks Aldo..." I knew that it was rare for him to give compliments, especially to me so I was going to take it without any objections.

He added, "I used to think you were another useless girl. I actually used to think you were the most annoying thing I've ever met, but you ain't so bad. I guess I was wrong about you." He sounded uneasy, like he was embarrassed to admit stuff like that.

"I guess I'll take that as a compliment..."I decided bashfullly and slightly confused. "I was wrong about you too...I used to think that you were just a stupid american without a brain...Oh wait, I still think that!"

He glared at me comically. "I compliment ya, and I only get an insult!"he exclaimed and punched my arm playfully.

I laughed and rubbed my arm where he hit me. If I was 'Cecile' right now, german officers would have killed him for such a gesture. It was refreshing to see that _not_ happen for once. Afterall, I wasn't a porcelen doll, but they sure did think so. "I'm just kidding! You're smart and a great leader,"I told him sincerely. By the way, I wasn't lying about any of that. Although he got on my last nerve, I couldn't deny the facts.

He grinned at me widely. "Of course I am!" he confirmed.

Irritated by his childish demeanor, I pinched his arm causing him to fuss. "Don't let that go to your big head!"I shouted at him sternly.

He laughed and went quiet for a moment. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but he was holding back. I noticed he was looking at me out of the corner of his eye. "What?"

He looked foward as he spoke. "Nothin'...I was just thinkin' that, things aren't goin' to be the same without ya..."he answered uneasily.

"Hmm?"I uttered inquisitively. "How so?"

"I ain't gonna have no one to argue with anymore!"He exclaimed. "And it was sort of nice having a woman around for once..."he muttered the last part, humiliated to say it aloud.

"What was that last part?"I teased obnoxiously earning a glare from him. After a moment of walking in silence, I confessed,"I hate to admit it, but I'm going to miss you guys. I feel like I'm not going to be able to make it through the day without you guys."

He looked at me skeptically as I looked down at the rocks which I was kicking as I walked. "You don't think you're gonna' make it? That's wierd...You always seem so tough. Of course you'll be fine."

Our footsteps came to a stop at the entrance of the town. The lights coming from the town seemed to be the only light for miles in the dark night. I tore my eyes from the town and looked up at him bashfully. "Maybe, but I'm sure as hell not going to like it." I stared up at the entrance unwillingly. Leaving them was hard enough, but going back to Landa and telling him my mission failed already was going to be worse.

"You know Gabrielle...You ain't as bad to have around as I thought,"he announced. "In fact you're helpful. If you want to stay with us a little bit longer...we can postpone er, _this_..."he suggested generously. My eyes widened. My mission wasn't over! I couldn't believe it...I was convinced that this was where we end. I wanted to jump up and down with excitement, but I suppose that could wait till later.

"Seriously? You're the best!"I exclaimed. I didn't hesitate to wrap my arms around his neck and give him a tight hug.

I felt him stiffen awkwardly. "Thanks honey."

Even though he got on my last nerve, you had to love the guy. Well maybe not that far, but atleast like him. No matter what the situation I was always smiling when he was around. Even in sticky situations, he always had his sense of humor, no matter what. Even when he was furious, he was still cracking jokes or sarcastic remarks. I loved that about him. When I was with him, I always felt content.

I pulled away from him and we started walking back to the truck. Now I knew things were going to become challenging for me. I had to be sure to not fall even further for any of these men.

He walked crookedly and crashed in to me purposely. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled to to him tightly so I couldn't move from his grip. "What are you doing?"I demanded and glared at him. I felt my cheeks heat up dew to the fact that he was so close to me. I tried to hide my rosy cheeks.

"Now what's goin' on with you and Hugo?"he asked spontaniously. What the hell? Where was this coming from? When I didn't respond, he added, "Are you two a thing now, or what?"

I shook my head smiling contently. "Of course not. I'm not anybody's girl." More of my lies. If only he knew about Landa.

He smirked and let go of me, but didn't let a gap form between us. "Let's keep it that way."

I stopped walking. "What?"I inquired completely bamboozled. "Are you jealous Aldo?"I teased.

His face blushed noticably causing me to laugh loudly. "No!"he denied. "I just don't want to see your tongues down each other's throats all day!"

"Just keep telling yourself that Aldo..."I mocked him passively.

In no time we got back to the truck. I went to the back where I had been earlier. I was awaiting to be interegatted as to why I was back, but it never came. Hugo along with the rest of them had fallen asleep.

I sighed and walked by him where I had been sitting earlier. I looked down at him indifferently. He didn't look like that cold blooded murderer when he was sleeping. In fact, he looked kind of cute. I wanted to...but I shouldn't, but I really wanted to. Oh fuck it. I leaned foward and planted a gentle kiss on his lips.

**AN: I hope you liked it! :D I have an idea of who I'm going to choose for the 'love interest', but after reading this chapter, you guys should know that it can still go either way. ;) Review please! ^-^ I haven't gotten a whole lot lately. Please and thank you! 3 (btw; I don't know if I have, but if I didn't reply to a review, Sorry! _ I want to reply to all them, but sometimes I get confused and think I replied already but I didn't. so i don't know if I've done that or not)**


	11. Fear Returns

_AN: Thanks readers for the reviews and such! :D_

I leaned back back in my seat in relaxation. I had moved to the front of the truck earlier that night because everyone in the back was sleeping and it was quite irksome. It got dull staring at their sleeping, vacant faces. Plus, it was more comfortable in a seat than on the hard floor of the truck.

I stared out the window passively. Aldo and I were the only two left awake and we sat in silence, consumed by our own thoughts. I looked down at Donny who had fallen asleep and was now laying his head on my lap. I grabbed a fistful of his hair and scrunched it gently as I looked down at him affectionately.

Aldo who was paying more attention to me than I realized exclaimed after seeing my affectionate gesture, "First Hugo, now Donny! Wow, you work fast!"

I narrowed my eyes at him and moved my hands away from Donny with embarrassment. "That's bull shit. I haven't done anything with Hugo, nor will I with this one. Hmph! "

He peaked at me from the corner of his eyes. "Really? Then why were you kissing him so much earlier?"Aldo challenged cocking an eyebrow at me.

I furrowed my eyebrows and pouted my lips. "That' not fair. He kissed me first! See, you don't have anything on me!"I scoffed gladly, thinking that I outsmarted him.

"You kissed him twice!"he snapped impatiently. Now that I think about it, that statement makes him seem like a stalker. Hmm.

"Shut up! Besides...The first time he kissed me first..."I mumbled, hating to be proved wrong.

"Doesn't matter. A fact is a fact,"he argued. He was being too persistant about this topic. I wondered why he acted so concerned.

I leaned toward him smirking. "Are you jealous or something, Aldo?"I inquired surprisingly not in a teasing way. I honestly did want to know why he was acting so hostile.

He answered too quickly, "No! There's nothing to be jealous of!" I was positive that he was lying.

"Liar." I smirked and before he could argue I leaned in even closer to him and kissed him on his cheek right next to his lips. I felt him twitch at from the touch. I leaned back in my seat and grinned. That got him to shut up, I'll say that much. I peeked up at him and his face noticeably turned a shade of red. It was kind of cute, to be honest.

As the night continued, I was unsure of what time it was exactly, but I could imagine that it was past midnight. Of course I wasn't drowsy at all. Aldo on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. I stared at him as he yawned boisterously.

"You want me to drive? I don't want you to crash in to a tree or something,"I joked, totally not serious about the me driving part.

He looked at me with hope dancing in his eyes. "Will ya'?"

I scoffed at him, shocked that he thought I was really offering to. "Aldo, I was being sarcastic! I don't even know how to drive!"I stated to him laughing.

He stared at me coldly before asking in disbelief, "How do you not know how to drive?"

"I'm pretty sure the Nazis would find me noticeable if I went out driving...Before all that, I was just too young." I shrugged. The fact that I didn't know how to drive was true, but the next part wasn't. Ever since I met Landa, Germans drove me everywhere I went. Before that I was too poor to afford a car in the first place. It's hard to believe, but I haven't always been so superior. I used to be just like everyone else.

He put the truck in park. He turned to me and said, "Well you're getting your first driving lesson now."

"What?"I questioned taken by surprise. But then I said, hell, why not? "Fine."

I moved Donny from my lap and moved to the drivers seat. The seat was large enough for the two of us, so Aldo merely slid down. He reached over me, grazing my breast in the process as he put the truck in drive. I couldn't tell if it was on purpose. He looked down to where out feet were. "That's the gas. That's the breaks." He pointed out each pedal as he said them. "Have fun!" He slouched down in his seat getting ready to sleep.

"That's it?"I asked curiously.

"Pretty much. Try not to crash,"he advised casually. I watched him as him as he pulled his hat down to cover his eyes and began to doze off. I sighed and looked back at the road. I slammed down on the gas and the truck took off faster than I anticipated, but I quickly recovered from my scare.

After some time, Aldo's head fell upon my shoulder. I tore my eyes from the road to look at him. I couldn't determine if he was sleeping or just trying to be funny because his hat covered his eyes. I slowed down the truck and I timidly reached over and pulled his hat from his head. He had fallen asleep. I sighed and put his hat back on him. I didn't bother to push him off of me.

An eerie thought formed in my head when I realized that I was the only one awake and I was in control of the truck. Theoretically, I could drive them in to enemy terretories if I wanted and they wouldn't be able to do anything about it. That would end my mission and make me a hero. That idea was so tempting, but I just couldn't.

Two things were stopping me from doing so. Deep down, I guess I just didn't want my mission to end. I know, it was a terrible. Of course, my mission was going to end some time, but I was just drawing it out. On top of that, I learned to respect them. Betraying them like that was just malicious. I didn't want to be at the scene of the crime when they realize that I'm a traitor. I was positive that they wouldn't take it very well. Also, I didn't want to feel guilty. I brushed the thoughts off because they troubled me. I knew that that day will come when I fully betray them and screw them over, but...I didn't want it to.

I found myself becoming pretty drowsy after a while. Now I know how Aldo must feel, having to do this nearly everyday. I struggled to, but I eventually managed to put the truck in park. I relaxed and leaned back in my seat. I was too tired to move away from Aldo, so I eventually dozed off in to a deep sleep. Little did I know that we fell asleep cuddled against each other. My neck seemed to fit in to the crook of his neck perfectly. His hat had fallen off and his head leaned on top of mine. My legs were slung over his and his arm was wrapped around my waist holding me close to him.

When I awoke, it was dead silent. Hopefully more silent than dead, but nevertheless, I opened my eyes and realized that I was the only one in the truck. I stretched my arms over my head and let out a loud yawn. I adjusted my laying position on the seat and sat up. I looked out the window and saw that the basterds had migrated outside.

After getting bored from just staring at them from the safety of the truck, I decided to get out. I got out on the driver's side and walked around to where they were. Aldo was the first to notice my presence. "Good Afternoon, sleeping beauty." What a charmer. (note the sarcasm)

I rolled my eyes and remarked, "I'm sorry, I was too busy driving all night." I approached Aldo and folded my arms cockily.

"You let her drive!"Donny exclaimed in mass disbelief. The other basterds had mild shock written across their faces, but it was no where near as bad as Donny. He was exaggerating it.

Aldo gave me a death glare. I guess I wasn't supposed to say that. "Aw, lighten up,"I commanded and wrapped my arms around his waist and gave him a slight squeeze. I felt Aldo tense and it made me giggle. I buried my face in to his chest, closing my eyes restfully, enjoying his touch. I didn't realize even an innocent enough gesture like that was foolish because of a jealous pair of eyes. Aldo patted my shoulder lightly, a signal for me to get off of him. I guess he was more aware of the jealousy than I was. Or he was just embarrassed.

Either way, I released him. I walked over to where Smithson was. He had a frying pan under a fire and was attempting to make eggs for 'breakfast'. If he was making breakfast now, they couldn't have gotten up much earlier than I did.

"Hey,"I greeted him cheekily.

His eyes lit up with joy when he saw me. "Hey Gabrielle! Long time no talk..."

I crouched down next to him. "I know,"I agreed sullenly. "Things have just been so hectic lately."

"Not so much. I think Hugo was just keeping you close to him lately and away from everyone else,"he whispered because the subject was nearby.

I disagreed agitatedly, "That's not true! You make it sound like he can control me! I assure you, nobody can..."

He shook his head. "I'm sorry. That's just the way it seems. He's not as great of a guy as you think..."

"How would you know,"I pouted, but I had a bad feeling that he was telling the truth. I didn't want to hear anymore, but I was too curious. I glanced at Hugo and saw that he was staring at me intently.

"I never said that I knew. It's just...I have a bad feeling about him." The way that Smithson spoke about him sent shivers down my spine. I knew Hugo well enough to know not to be afraid of him, but Smithson made me think twice about it.

"I don't..."I murmured now unsure. I looked away from him and was now interested in the ground.

"Do you want breakfast?"Smithson asked gently, trying to change the topic.

"Um...No. I'm not really hungry,"I told him and it totally didn't have anything to do with the conversation we had moments ago. I stood up and went by Aldo.

I tugged on his sleeve to pull his attention from Donny who he was talking to. "Is there anywhere I could bathe? I feel gross,"I asked him in a hushed voice.

He rubbed the prickles on his chin in thought. "I think there mighta' been some springs that way."

"Alright, I'll be back,"I announced and went in the direction that he pointed out. As I walked past all of the basterds, I avoided eye contact with Hugo. I mentally cursed Smithson for putting me in fear of Hugo...again.

Surely enough, after walking a little, I came across a hot spring. Thank goodness. I smelled horrible and I felt so grimy.

I scanned the area to be sure that none of the basterds were learking around. I stripped myself of clothes and got in to the water quickly to escape the bitter air on my skin. My clothes were sitting on a nearby rock, just in case.

Luckily for me, the water was comfortably warm. It was very deep so I could sit in it and it came up to my neck. I sat on the edge and leaned my head on the ground relaxed.

_AN: So I know this one was a wee bit short, but I have finals this week so i just wanted something added for my little weekly post :) Please review! ^-^_


	12. Protect you

_An: Hello readers! Thank you for the reviews, story alerts, favorites, etc! Even if it's only a few, I appreciate them :) Enjoy the chapter!_

I closed my eyes and rested my head on the large rocks that were sitting right outside the water. I had my ams folded resting on the rocks in a sleeping position and let my lower half float in the water. I figured that now was the best time to catch up on my rest.

What pulled me out of my sleep was a loud rustle in the nearby bushes. Shit. My eyes popped open immediately. I hoped that it was only an animal, but I was sure that it wasn't. The noise was too loud to be a squirrel or a bird. It was definitely a person. Shit.

I was thinking about hastily spazzing to get my clothes on, but with my luck, whoever was lurking around would catch me in the buff.

Instead, I decided to catch them first. "I know you're there! Come out where I can see you!"I demanded. If it wasn't one of the basterds, I'd be very surprised.

The bushes rustled some more and none other than Hugo walked out. I shivered involuntarily, but I brushed it off quickly. I decided earlier that Hugo was no one that I needed to fear at the moment. Just because Smithson feared him, doesn't mean that I had to as well.

"Hugo!"I squealed, trying to cover myself, splashing water around in the process. "What are you doing here!" I glared at him when I noticed a smirk was forming upon his lips. I'm sure I must've looked pretty humorous to him.

He took a drag from his cigarette and then replied, "Why are you panicking? It's not like I'm a stranger." He sounded almost offended. "Besides, it's not as if haven't seen you naked before." My eyes widened a great deal and I began to panic. He sounded so serious, but as far as I knew, that wasn't true.

"What!"I shrieked, and awaited an explanation. I felt my cheeks heating up.

"It was a joke,"he assured me with a straight face and I went at ease again. I smiled up at him and he was respectable enough to look away at the trees. He glanced down at me and approached me. Great! He could definitely see through the water at me from this close. I stared at him suspiciously. "Here. Aldo wanted me to give you these..." He placed clothes down on the rock next to me.

"Thanks,"I said bashfully.

"We're leaving soon. Here." He placed a handgun down on top of the pile of clothes. "Just in case."

I nodded up at him. "Thanks Hugo." He looked down at me, his attention drawn to my head.

"I think there's something in your hair,"He informed me before turning on his heel as he continued to smoke and I watched him as he left. I looked at my reflection in the water and saw that there was nothing in my hair, but what he saw was my blond hair beginning to pop up from the roots of my hair. Damn. I thought the hair dye would've lasted longer. I knew that I couldn't re-die it. I suppose I could work around it. Right now it was only a small section of my hair, so it was still easy to cover up. I combed my hair with my fingers and pulled over my brown hair to cover up the blond. That would have to do for now.

After fixing my hair dilemma, I slid out of the water. I unfolded the sloppily folded clothes. It was an olive colored t-shirt that looked slim fitting for a man, and a pair of trousers and a belt so that they wouldn't slide right off of me. I pressed the closes against my face and took in the scent. It was in fact, Aldo's clothes. I knew his scent so well.

I picked up the gun from the ground and held on to it cautiously. I was impressed that they actually trusted me with a gun. I began to walk up the hill which led to where camp was set up wich was on the other side the hill at the bottom.

As I got closer to the top of the hill, I felt like something was abnormal. Usually the basterds were boisterous and you could hear them a mile away. Now, I couldn't hear them at all. Either they ditched me, which I was doubtful of, or something happened. I found myself begin to jog up the hill, anxious to see what happened.

Once I reached the top of the hill and saw what was going on, I swiftly ducked down so that no one at the bottom could see me. Hidden within my cover, I took a better view of the situation. There were Nazis there. Looked like the basterds were outnumbered and the Nazis were in control. The basterds were all stuck in a futile position with their hands behind their heads and the Nazis had guns pointed at them.

I didn't know what to do. I never planned ahead for something like this. I wondered if I should step in, but if I were to, what side would I go on? I felt obligated right now to be on the Basterds side, but I knew it wasn't right. This was the perfect scenario for me to take them in to enemy lines...but something was holding me back. I just couldn't do it. Not like this. The day will come when I betray them, but it won't be today and not like that.

However, what do I do now? If I didn't step in, they were going to be captured, or worse, killed! I couldn't let either happen, but how could I stop it? Then I realized that I had a gun grasped tightly in my hand. But the problem was, I've never shot a gun. With my luck, I'd end up shooting a basterd. I didn't want to risk it.

I focused on Aldo and waited expectantly for him to do something. He was witty, I was sure that he'd figure out a scheme to get them out of the situation. I just had to wait. Unconsciously, I counted how many of the Nazis there were. About ten, while there were about eight basterds. I counted how many bullets were in the gun which I was holding. Six. Assuming that I didn't miss, it would take out majority of the Nazis. That plan wouldn't work. I was hoping too much on my chance and luck. I wasn't the luckiest person in the world.

I jumped in alarm when a gun was pointed right at Aldo. I let adrenaline take control and without a thought, I pointed my gun at the Nazi and squeezed the trigger along with my eyelids and I prayed that it hit. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes. It actually hit him! I was overjoyed. I wanted to cheer and jump up and down, but I suppose that would have to wait til later.

Now I was presented with another problem. I wasn't the only one with a gun. I remembered that when they started shooting at me. I scrambled on to the side of the hill opposite of them so that they were unable to shoot me. Shit. I had to think of something fast. Surely they'd come looking for me and do god knows what. I ran to the other side of the hill. At least they wouldn't expect me to being on this side. The element of surprise. Cautiously I hid behind a tree and peeked around it. I had my next target in sight. Now the only question was, could I shoot him?

My heart was racing. If I screwed up now, I'd be as good as dead. I had to be carefully. I pointed my gun and took not only one, but two shots! One at my target and another that was near him. I ducked down on the other side of the hill before I could see the aftermath. Directly after, I heard three gun shots fill the air. The only problem was that I didn't know who shot the gun(s).

I sat silent and still. I felt that if I made even the slightest movement or uttered even a whimper, I'd get shot. I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed that my actions were enough to help the basterds.

I remained in a fetile position. I couldn't tell what had happened, and I wasn't exactly anxious to know. I was afraid that I wouldn't be very happy at the outcome. After all, I could have missed the Nazis and hit one of the Basterds. I could have hit Aldo, Hugo, Donny, Smithson, oh my gosh! The possibilities made me so distressed! On top of that, which side was now in control of the situation? I hoped that the basterds found my interference beneficial. Jeez, I never thought that I could ever be so worried about them!

Suddenly, Donny's boisterous voice filled my ears and brought me relief. I sighed, letting out the breath I was holding in. I stood up and walked up the hill and saw that the basterds were now at ease and most of the Nazi party was on the ground, shot dead. All except for one who Omar was pointing a gun at as a safety precaution. I should have expected that they were going to question him. I had a feeling that this wouldn't turn out so well.

Nevertheless, I headed down the hill, ignoring my gut feeling. They weren't very attentive of my presence. They were far too busy boasting over the fact that they hadn't been captured or killed. They weren't even curious about who saved them yet. They were way too excited at the moment. I guess they needed a while to take it all in. I guess I understood. I probably would've acted the same, but a thanks would've been nice.

When I finally did reach the bottom of the hill where they were, Aldo was the first to acknowledge my presence. I gasped as I was taken by surprise because he pulled me in to an unsuspected bone crushing hug. "Aldo!"was the first thing to escape my mouth.

"Gabrielle! Did you do that!" He pulled away from me and gripped my shoulders, ensuring that we stood close to each other. He was beaming. I couldn't deny that I was delighted to see him so glad.

I smiled back at him softly and replied proudly, "Yes."

"That was amazing!" He pulled me in to another tight hug and this time he picked me up and spun my around in a circle. I wrapped my arms around his neck and giggled. My nostrils were hit with that scent of his that was on my clothes as well. I felt like I was on cloud nine merely from his scent. Was I falling in-No! I wouldn't say it. I couldn't. I close my eyes and snuggled in to the crook of his neck. "I never woulda guessed that you of all people could've done that!"

He put me back on earth, much to my dismay. I looked up at him and agreed bombastically, "I guess it was pretty amazing."

"You bet it was!"Donny intervened, patting my shoulder like how football players do after playing a good game. If he was a _real _football player, he would've patted my ass instead, and thank goodness we weren't playing football. Just some high quality Nazi killing.

The rest of the basterds complimented me and even thanked me for what I had done. I was surprised I got the recognition that I deserved.

"What are we going to do now?" Everyone had calmed down from the excitement of victory and now I wanted to leave. I was afraid of how much this Nazi knew and I knew that he would squeal to Aldo everything that he knew with the right persuasion.

"After we have a little talk with this one we'll be on the road again,"Aldo replied pointing at the soldier who looked scared to death. I felt sorry for him. I couldn't imagine sitting in the mist of their basterds' excitement, waiting anxiously to see if I was going to live or die. I had a terrible feeling that I'd be able to not only imagine, but also_ feel _his anxiety.

"Why?"I whined. "Can't we just leave now?" I was going to do anything I could(while still being discreet), to avoid being discovered as my secret identity. Cecile.

"Calm down! Don't be in such a rush! We've got time!,"Aldo assured me. "In fact, why don't you help like last time!" I couldn't even decline. He laced his fingers with mine and dragged me toward the soldier. I suppose I was stuck now. I couldn't get out of this without looking suspicious. I just hoped that the Nazi wouldn't recognize me and actually say it aloud, or mention how I'm a double agent. I felt my insides press against the walls of my skin at the same beat of my heart. My nerves were running wild. I was pretty clever, but I couldn't think of anything to snake me out of the situation.

_AN: That's all for now, Review please! :)_


	13. Down Hill

_AN: Thanks to those who reviewed and such, and the ones who didn't...you should ;) Enjoy the chaper!_

Right now, I was in a position that I didn't want to be in. I was sitting next to Aldo on the ground of the forest, in front of a Nazi who looked he just pissed his pants, and I was forced to interegate him. My lips were pulled together in tight line and my eyebrows furrowed a slight bit, dew to my nervousness. I didn't want to make my nerves apparent, but I couldn't help it. I knew that one day I'd be in the same position as that soldier and I would look the same as he did. He was sweating bullets and tears were dried up on his face and were still threatening to pour from his eyes.

"Do ya speak english?"Aldo demanded, looking at the man judgingly. In response, the man shook his head vigorously. "You're turn." Aldo whacked me with his elbow.

I let out a loud sigh. I peeked behind me and saw that the Basterds who knew french weren't very attentive at the moment. I hissed to the Nazi in french, "I know you speak french now listen. Don't say anything about Cecile, or else your _dead_."He nodded lightly. I could tell that he was unsure if he ought to head my warning. It's not as if I could _really_ do anything to him, but it was his decision if he wanted to save his life or possibly put his country in danger by squealing. Seemed like I was out of luck. He was scared to death, he was bound to squeal, and the Basterds were going to use that against him, surely.

Aldo told me, "Ask him how they knew where we were."

I rolled my eyes. I already knew how they knew, but if the bastards knew what that same piece of information, they'd kill me on the spot. I couldn't voluntarily give them information as vital as that. "There's no point Aldo! We're wasting our time! They were probably just driving and happened to see us."

"Not at all, Gabrielle! They knew exactly where we were and who we are! You were too busy taking a bath, so you wouldn't know! Now just ask him so that we can get the hell out of here!"Aldo snapped at me impatiently. His anger sounded foreign to me now, since he hasn't yelled at me for a while. He's been working on our love connection.

"Well, if you want to leave so quickly, let's just go now!"I argued back. "Besides, I'm tired." I released a fake yawn. He glared at me, irritated that I refused to cooperate. I better make sure that he doesn't get _too _mad at me. I wrapped one arm around his neck and placed the other on his chest. I saw his face become flushed. I looked him in the eyes flirtatiously. "C'mon Aldo," I pouted and leaned in closer. Close enough to kiss him.

Little did I know that out of the Bastards which were staring, Hugo was leering at me, and not only because he was jealous.

"I don't know why you're being so lazy today,"He began and pried my hands off of him gently. My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe that he was immune to my charm. I-I was positive that it would've worked. "But it's okay. You can go sleep in the truck or something."

"Fine!"I whined and stomped away, but was stopped by Donny's hand wrapping around my arm roughly.

"What's wrong with you today?"he asked me with a hint of concern. He tried his best to conceal it, but clearly failed. "Don't tell me you're pms-ing!"

My eyes were still rageful, but now in a playful way. I punch his arm in a childish manner and his hand snapped off of me.

"And I'm not pms-ing! I'm just...just tired today!"I denied. I was actually _was_ tired earlier, but that nervous feeling had woken me up.

I let my head turn back toward Aldo unconsiously and saw that he now had Wicki translating for him. My eyes widened, but I quickly let them shrink back to normal before anyone could see my alarm. That wasn't good. In fact it was terrible! Dammit! I should've just translated for him! Then atleast I could've manipulated the information. How could I forget that Wicki was their designated translator! Wicki wasn't going to hide any informaton and I had a feeling that the soldier wouldn't either, with the right motivation.

I walked back near Aldo and listened intently to Wicki speaking to the soldier. Donny stood close behind me like how a mama would follow her ducklings, fearing that I was going to do something dumb, dew to my strange mood. Since he towered over me, he folded his arms on top of my head and leaned his weight on me. I normally would've knocked him off of me, but I was too preoccupied as I ease dropped.

Judging by the dialect, they were speaking German. Of course German! That wasn't my strongest language. I could pick up on some of the words that they said, so I had an vague idea of what they were saying. I figured out that Wicki asked him what Aldo wanted me to ask earlier. How they knew where to find the Bastards. I was put in a state of suspense. The soldier's accent was so thick that I couldn't understand most of what he was saying. However, one word heard far more clear than the rest. _Cecile_.

Wicki turned to Aldo and said in confusion, "He says that information was passed down from Cecile." Wicki turned his head and looked at me indifferently. Damn. If they were smart, they'd figure out that I'm Cecile. If they did, I was as good as dead...

Aldo's expression turned to a snear at the mention of Cecile(me). It hurt my feelings. If I wasn't _Gabrielle_, then he would've despised me. I hated the reality of that. "Cecile?" he scoffed. "How the hell would she know anything? She's probably in a damn salon right now!" Thanks Aldo... "Ask him how Cecile knows that. He knows more."

I looked at the soldier and we made eye contact. I gave him the nastiest look I could've mustered and I was pretty sure that he got the hint. It was almost like telepathy.

He spoke shakily. I couldn't understand what he said, so I waited impatiently for Wicki to translate. "He says that Cecile was sent as a spy of some sort and that Hans Landa is behind the whole thing." I couldn't believe that little bitch squealed! Way to take one for the team! Well, country...

"Uhg! This is so boring! Can we go now!"I whined loudly attempting to keep their minds off of what they just learned.

To my surprise, Hugo stepped foward and informed them, "He knows more." I suppose my attempt was in vain.

Aldo nodded. "Wicki, see what more he knows about Cecile."

My nerves were running wild. All I could do was pray that he kept his mouth shut. While Wicki was translating, Aldo turned to Donny who was now standing next to me and announced eerily, "You're probably gonna get to play some baseball today." Just like that, Donny dissapeared from my side and ran off in search of his bat.

Wicki said translating, "He's says he's a mere soldier and that he doesn't know anything else."

I looked up at Hugo and saw that he was looking at me with venom. It was amazing how fast everything could go downhill. The other day he adored me, the next, he wanted to rip me to shreds

"He's all yours Donny." Aldo and Wicki stood up to stay out of the blood zone. I looked behind me and saw that Donny was back and had his bat gripped in his hand.

I sighed to myself. "I don't want to see that again. I'm going to wait in the truck,"I said to Aldo before fleeing from the to be bloody mess. I almost felt guilty that the soldier was going to die because of me, but if I interphered, my mission would go up in flames, but it's not as if it hadn't already.

As I walked I wrapped my arms around myself, getting a sudden chill. I looked behind me and saw that Hugo was looking at me intently, and not all goo-goo eyed. Like he wanted to kill me. I scurried in to the nearby truck. I sat in the drivers seat, which was faced away from where the Basterds were, and I didn't look back again.

All of a sudden, my grimy nails become the most interesting thing to me. I attempted to pry out all of the dirt that was stuck under them, but of course not successfully. I should've been used to insignificant grosse things such as that by now, but of course I wasn't. I guess Aldo was right earlier when he said that I(Cecile) belonged in a salon all day. I sighed at the thought of it, becoming aggrivated. I hated that he thought that about me, but I couldn't do anything about it, seeing that it was true. I would spend hours in a salon, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I was high maitinence, and it couldn't be helped.

My feelings for Aldo were starting to get in the way of everything! I adored him, I couldn't even deny it anymore! I could only hope that those feelings wouldn't interphere with the success of my mission. With each day, those feelings grew stronger and I feared that it was out of my control now. I tried so hard to not like him. I had to end my mission soon, or else all of this would be for nothing, or Hugo would kill me before I could do anything else. It was obvious how suspicious he was of me and it was terrefing. If it weren't for the other Basterds being around, he probably would've ripped me to shreds by now. I couldn't believe how quickly my mission went downhill. It was a mere hour ago he was being so sweat to me, and now look.

I heard the passenger door click open. I whipped my head from my nails expecting to see a bloody Donny, but instead I got a disturbed looking Hugo. As he slid in to the passengers seat he didn't remove his eyes from me even for a second. He seemed like a bloodthirsty wolf on the hunt and he found his next meal.

I was thinking about greeting him as if everything was fine, but my lips were trembling far too much. I sat in my seat, imobalized. I stared foward at the windshield with my limbs stiff and beginning to shake. I hoped that he couldn't smell my fear like how a canine could.

"You're not telling us something. Explain now." He spoke with such coldness that I froze. I stayed silent as I paniced mentally. I didn't want my mission to end here. I was so angry that he figured it out! However, I guess I should've expected it. It's not as if they were stupid. I didn't even know what to say to him. In the back of my mind I thought of telling him the truth now before I got in to real trouble. Hugo, I've been sent as a spy to get all of you guys killed and I really am Cecile. Then we could've laughed about it! I wasn't that stupid! I knew that he would've suphacated me on the spot with his bare hands. He wouldn't have appreciated honesty anyway. "Speak Cecile-I mean Gabrielle."

That Bastard! He definately knew what was going on. He just wanted me to say it and humiliate me before he actually did anything about it. I forced myself to bring tears to my eyes. I'd stick to playing the victim for now until I found a better approach. "How could you think that Hugo? I thought that you liked me..."I whimpered and let a tear slide down my cheek to make it seem authentic. I even managed to get that lump in my throat, but it wasn't intentional.

He seemed to hesitate. I suppose he liked me enough to not want to see me in a state like that. "I know what you're up to Cecile. Your little charm may be working on Aldo, but sure as hell not me...But don't worry. I won't tell him anything just yet, but the second you do something suspicious, you're dead,"he threatened. My eyes widened and became wild.

"Why don't you believe me, Hugo! I would never be like her!"I cried and whiped away tears as they slid down my cheeks.

"I'm keeping my eye on you..."

The door clicked open once again and Donny stood at the ground looking quite bewildered. "Hugo, you're in my spot!"Donny yelled. I quickly whipped the the tears from my face with the back of my hand before Donny could see. I felt Hugo's gaze still on me as he moved out of Donny's seat.

"...You okay?" Donny asked uneasily when he saw the dried up tears that still remained on my face.

"I'm fine!"I assured him. "There was just something in my eye..."

* * *

Not soon enough, the rest of the Basterds filled the truck. When Aldo saw my facial expression, he instantly asked what was wrong with me. I told him, "I'm fine." My voice sounded so strained, even I could sense it. He left me alone after that, not persistant to know, to my relief.

Aldo started the truck and we hit the road again. The whole truck seemed tense. Everyone was talking and such, but not about what they wanted to because of my precensce. I guess that means they managed to piece everything together. I'm surprised that they didn't leave me behind. I almost wished that they did. It would make both ending my mission and departing from them a whole lot easier.

"Listen,"Aldo called to me, breaking the silence between the three of us. "I know that things are getting a little, er...hectic now, and everyone has something to say about it..."he hesitated. Just spit it out already! "but, I'll always be on your side." My eyes widened with mild shock, but a wide grin soon replaced it. I couldn't begin to describe how happy those words made me. Just the fact that _he_ said it made it all the more better.

Donny chimed, "Same here. And I'll protect you no matter what...You'll need it!"

Genuine tears filled my eyes, but I didn't let them fall. I had become too soft. My brick wall that I worked so hard to build was crumbling. I ignored those thoughts at the moment. I just couldn't believe that they said those things. "Thanks guys. It means a lot,"I muttered with my face as red as a tomato.

In response Aldo chuckled subtly to himself while Donny laughed loudly and shamelessly. I couldn't help but to giggle at them. Moments like these made me want my mission to never end, but as we all know, all good things must come to an end.

_AN: I hope you guys liked it! :) I had some troubles writing it, but I think it came out okay. Please review! It really helps me X)_


	14. End This

_AN: Hola readers! Thanks for the reviews, story alerts, etc! :) Enjoy the chap_

I yanked my hair and stared at it in utter disbelief. How did it change from brown to blond so quickly! Every single pair of the Basterd's eyes were glued on me, bewildered by my sudden change. I nervously looked at each individual face. My lips quivered. I was speechless. My eyes stuck on Hugo and I backed away in fear. He was standing behind the rest of the men like a monster in chains.

I tripped over a tree root and fell on my butt. Hard. However, I was hardely worried about that. Hugo is known to be a man who smiled no bigger than a smirk. He was grinning at me so widely that it seemed that his the skin of his cheeks was going in to his eyes.

He began walking toward me and the Basterds stepped to the side to let him walk past. "I told you that she was Cecile..." He said eerily, still grinning as he continued to approach me. I crawled backwards from him, trying to get away.

Aside from the savages, Donny screamed, "Run Gabrielle!" As a result, he was bashed by the rest of them. I didn't need another hint to get the hell out of there. I rose to my feet and scurried away as quickly as I could. I couldn't accelerate to my top speed. I was moving so slowly. It felt like I was running in jello! Dew to my anxiety, I turned my head and saw that he was walking with ease and he was catching up to me at a rapid pace.

The gap between us became shorter and shorter until he was close enough to touch me. I was yanked back by my shoulders and next thing I knew, I was on the ground staring up at him. Those shiny, razor-like teeth. His grin hadn't faltered even the slightest bit. I didn't try escaping again because I knew that I wouldn't get very far. I waited expectantly for him to pull out a gun or a knife to end this. End me...I stared up at his shiny teeth and I realized that his teeth looked a lot like knives. Just as I noticed, a 'tooth' fell out of his gums and stabbed me right in the cheek. I screamed, but no sound came out. The only thing heard was Hugo's maniac laughter. The knives continued to fall from his mouth and began hitting me in vital points. My veins, my neck, lastly my heart.

My eyes shot open and I came to the realazation that it was a dream. Only a dream? More like a nightmare. I let out a relieved sigh. I just hoped that it never became my reality.

In my sleep I had snuggled even closer to Aldo and I was gripping the his jacket for dear life. I looked up at his face and he was staring at the road as he drove and Donny was talking to him. I guess he wasn't fazed by my death grip. I wondered if I was doing it for a while.

Aldo looked down at me when he realized that I was awake. "Sorry," I muttered and let go of his jacket.

He stopped speaking to Donny abruptly and turned his attention to me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me back close. "What's up sleepy head? Seems like you've been having a nightmare."

I smiled bashfully at him. "How could you tell?"

"Easy. For one, normally, you look relaxed when you're sleepin'. Two, you _wouldn't_let go of me,"he explained causing me to blush out of embarrassment. He squeezed my shoulder when he noticed my dismay. "I don't mind," he whispered to me. I continued to blush anyway. I looked at Donny and saw that he was peering at me curiously. I thought back to my dream. He said that he'd protect me no matter what, but in the dream he couldn't. I wondered if I should be scared.

I turned my head and looked in the back of the truck and spotted Hugo. He had a knife in his hand which he was polishing with a cloth. Of course it had to be a knife...He must have felt my gaze upon him because he looked up from the knife right at me. We made eye contact for a moment but I snapped my head back quickly. That dream made me even more scared of him! I couldn't believe that I used to have a crush on him. That made me feel like a fool.

"Where are we going?"I asked, peering up at Aldo.

He pried his eyes from the dirt road to look at me with a wide grin. "Paris. It's where Operation Kino is going to be." Paris. Hm. I knew that Landa was somewhere near there. I hoped that our paths wouldn't cross once we get there. I didn't know if it would come easy to me to go back on to his side. Or if it was even the right decision for that matter. It seemed right. After all, when everything is over, I'd be better of on the German side. I imagined that if I stayed with the Basterds until the end, I'd always be in danger because that's just how they lived. On edge. Everyday a new adventure...

"Operation Kino?"I asked bewildered. "What the hell is that?"

"It's how we're going to end this damn war,"he explained. "We're going to kill every asshole in there. That includes, the high ranked SS members, and Hitler himself!"

Aldo reached over me to give Donny a high five. "How are you going to do that?"I asked in disbelief. There was no way that they could pull something like that off.

"We're getting all of the details tomorrow night, but basically they're all going to be in one place and we'll kill them all at once,"Aldo explained with enthusiasm.

"Do...do you really think that you could end the war like that?"I asked hesitantly. If the war was over, at the end of my mission I could go on whichever side I truly wanted to, without consequences.

"I sure hope so!"Aldo scoffed. "If everything goes according to plan, it should..."

Donny added, "Aldo, this is _us_ were talking about. Of course it isn't going according to plan...but it should turn out right."

"Exactly,"Aldo agreed and shut of the car.

In alarm, I asked, "What are we doing now?"

"Calm down, honey. We're just setting up camp for the night. Then tomorrow we're heading in to Paris. We're about a mile away." I just hoped that I'd be with them until then. After all, anything can happen over night... Aldo got out of the truck and the rest of the Basterds followed his lead, and they began getting camp set up. Everyone disbanded from the truck. All except Donny and I. I didn't leave yet because I didn't want to get stuck helping to set up camp. I was unsure what Donny's motives were.

Out of the blue, he asked, "So what was your dream about?" He stared out the windshielf passively.

"What?"I demanded. I couldn't imagine why he wanted to know. It seemed so random.

He repeated, "I _said_, what was your dream about?" He turned his head to look at me this time. I could see the curiosity pouring from his eyes, but behind that was concern.

Not wanting to explain such a frightening dream, I assured him, "Don't worry about it. It was nothing important."

"Liar! You seemed pretty damn freaked out!" he exclaimed.

I glared at him which caused him to whine, "Just tell me!...Please?"

That puppy dog eyed look never failed for some people. Giving in, I spat, "Fine!" I glanced at the back of the truck to be sure that no one else was in there. Especially not Hugo. "It was Hugo-"

Donny interrupted, "A wet dream?" He stopped laughing at his own joke abruptly when he saw my irritated expression. He held his hands in front of his face defensively. "Sorry! I'm sorry! Go on..."he breathed.

"Donny! Stop trying to get laid and help us out here!" One of the Basterds hollered at him. He didn't remove his gaze from me and held his hand up and stuck the middle finger at them.

"Anyway..."I hissed. "I had a dream that he killed me..." I lowered my voice to lower than a whisper and he had to lean in toward me to hear.

After I finished speaking he leaned back and sat forward in his seat, looking down at his lap as he took it in. I watched him expectantly and waited impatiently for his feedback. It would make me feel better about it if he cracked another one of his immature jokes.

Finally, he said completely serious, "No wonder you looked traumatized...But hey..." He grabbed me hand and squeezed it gently. I looked down from his face in a daze and at our hands laced in an embrace. "It was only a dream. I know that Hugo is a little intimidating, but don't let it get to you," he advised and gave me hand a gentle squeeze. He didn't get it. It wasn't _just_ a dream, first of all, and he's not_ just _a _little_ intimidating. Try _a lot_. Lastly, as for it not getting to me...Too late. It was just too bad I couldn't explain it all to him.

"I guess your right." There was no point in trying to convince him. Plus, I wasn't so fond of the topic.

"Donny!" Another one of the Basterds hollered. He released my hand quickly as he whipped around to look at them.

In response, Donny growled to himself, "They can't do shit on their own! I better go help them..." He left the truck, leaving me alone. Alone to my thoughts, and they were frightening. At a time when I was so vulnerable, I didn't want to be left alone, even if it meant facing Hugo again. I got out of the truck as well.

I followed Donny to where they were setting up camp and found that the fire was made and the tents were nearly set up. I sat in front of the fire and watched the sun as it set, thinking. I couldn't help but to wonder; where was I sleeping tonight? I remember the last time we slept in tents, I slept with Donny. I wondered if tonight would be the same.

As the night became later, Smithson prepared dinner and it became even darker out. If it weren't for the shining of the moon and stars, it would've been pitch black. I was just about to get ready to go to sleep, but then Aldo asked me, "You wanna' go for a walk with me?" I looked up at him from my position of sitting on the forest floor. He loomed over me with his hands in his pockets and a toothpick in his mouth.

"Sure,"I answered in an instant. I felt my heart begin to beat faster as he held a hand out to help me up and his hand was in mine. I haven't felt so..so in love since Landa. This just had to end soon or else something really horrible is going to happen. I could feel it in my gut.

The only thing that guided us through the darkness was the moon, stars, and...Aldo's lighter. His arm was wrapped around my shoulder and I snuggled into his chest as we walked for warmth.

"We've come a long way together, eh?" he mused, deciding to begin the conversation.

I agreed, "Yes. Now I can't see myself without you guys." They felt like my family now, and some even more (or less) than that. I know that I'd get over it with time and Landa by my side, but it would break my heart to betray them.

"Ya know, I was actually going to ask you to become one of the Basterds one of these days..." he hesitated, fearing that what he said next would be offensive, but of course he said it anyway. "You know I can't ask you that now. There's too much er...goin' on. You understand right?" I guess he believed that I was Cecile too...My only question was why didn't do anything about it? Maybe he was hoping that I wasn't. I almost wished that too. I'm so stupid! Landa warned me about this, but I didn't believe him. 'Don't become attached to any of them! Not even one! If you do, then the whole mission will go up in flames! Just keep the rewards in mind and you can't fail...' Before I started the mission, I thought it was a mere exaggeration. I should have listened to him.

I wondered if I should bother convincing him that I wasn't Cecile. "I guess so..." I was done making up lies in order to preserve my mission. In my mind, it was already finished.

Noticing my sullen state, he added, "You're free to stay as long as you want, ya know."

I looked up at his face and a grin popped up on my face automatically. My arms latched around his waist in an instant. "Thanks Aldo!" I giggled.

He chuckled and rubbed my back gently. Finding that hugging him was a comfortable position, I remained like that as we continued to walk. I was sure that he didn't mind so much.

Out of the blue he said, "I'm still impressed with you from earlier today. I never knew that you could shoot like that."

"Neither did I,"I told him giggling. "I guess I got lucky."

"Way more than lucky! Anyway, you really saved our asses back there. I appreciate it." I never thought that Aldo would say someting as sweet as that to me. I couldn't help but to blush.

"No problem. I had to protect you guys after all. It's the least I could do,"I replied, still stunned.

Aldo's footsteps came to a gradual stop and so did I seeing that I was holding him. He closed his lighter and put it in his pocket. Alarmed, I released his waist and looked up at him, still standing close. "What's wrong?"

The next thing I knew, his lips were smothering mine. Immediately, I wrapped my arms around his neck and fell deeper in to the kiss. Now that I thought about it, that was the first time that we kissed. At the time, I was sure that it was going to be our last. I wanted him so badly. I wanted to spend every day-every minute with him, but...I knew it was impossible. It was my mission to betray him, I couldn't forget that, but...he made it so hard.

As we kissed I felt warm tears falling from my eyes. Kissing him just made me realize what I couldn't have because of my mission. What I'd miss for a very long time.

Aldo must have tasted something salty because he pulled away. In an attempt to make me feel better, he joked, "I'm that bad?"

"No, it's not that!"I cried. I fell on to his chest and as a reflex, he wrapped his arms around me.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" In response, I nodded my head against him. "What is it?"he asked desperately.

"I can't tell you!"I sobbed.

"Look,"he grabbed my shoulders and leaned so that he could look me in the eyes, but I couldn't look at him. It made me feel even more guilty. With the back of his hand, he whipped away more tears that were streaming from my eyes. "Look at me, hun," He repeated. This time I looked at him dead in the eye, but it made me cry even harder. "If you're doin' somethin' that you ain't so proud of, you don't have to. You don't gotta' tell me exactly what 'it' is, but if you do something to stop it, I'm sure that no one here will be mad at you. Got it?"

I nodded at him and I pushed away my tears myself this time. "Now stop crying," He pleaded and pulled me into another embrace. I felt him let out a sigh. I just wanted my mission to be done. I wasn't the only one hurting from it...

_AN: So, I'm going on vacation for a week starting Sunday. I tried making this chap a little bit longer because I don't know the next time I post is going to be. Anywhooo, Please review! =D_


	15. Caught!

_AN: Hello, my lovies! :) Sorry for taking a while to post this one, but I'm back from vacation now and I finally finished the chapter! ^^ this is a long one, enjoy!_

My cheek dug in to Aldo's shoulder as he walked, carrying me on his back. The waterfall of tears that were on my face had dried for the most part. I could feel my hair frizz up and fly every which way. You could imagine that I looked like a wreck, and I felt like one too. I was exhausted from crying so much. I felt like such an imbecile for breaking down like that in front of Aldo. I hardly ever got so emotional to the point where I was crying. I didn't like for people to see my crying because it made me feel weak, but Aldo was an exception. His presence was comforting and he made me feel strong.

"Look, honey, I really don't want to believe what everyone's been sayin' about you. Just..Just tell me that they're wrong," Aldo begged, pulling me from my stressful thoughts.

My voice shook as I spoke. "You're wrong, Aldo. I'm just a poor Jewish girl who you came across by chance. I'm just an ordinary girl..." I didn't sound as convincing as I wanted.

"Thanks, honey," He muttered pitifully. I felt terribly to lie to him like that. If I felt guilty for lying to him. I wondered if I'd be able to complete my mission. Earlier that day, I decided that I'd try my hardest to complete my mission. After all, it seemed like the right thing to do. I thought of Landa's advice he had told me, which was to not fall victim to their charm I guess it was too late, so I'd have to just try harder. I wanted to finish this mission no matter how much it hurt me because I was sure that it would be worth it in the end. I just had to be sure nothing too horrid happens to them in the process because I still cared about them. Then again, that would mean not completing the mission fully! Ug! This turmoil was going to be the death of me...

As we neared where camp was set up, I saw that the fire had been put out and the Basterds were either outside their tents, liesuring, or inside beginning to doze off. I couldn't help but to wonder where I'd be sleeping that night. I jumped off of Aldo's back and walked at his side.

I croaked, "Where am I going to be sleeping?" My voice sounded disturbing. It was strained and cracked as I spoke. That's what enormous amounts of crying does to you.

Aldo stopped walking as did I. "I was thinkin' that you could sleep in my tent with me." I felt my cheeks burn. I had to stop doing that. I was just like a teenage girl, but I suppose it wasn't _that_ long ago when I was one.

"Sure. I'd like that,"I agreed, and a grin began to creep upon my face. I was thankful for the darkness because he could hardly see my rosy cheeks and my giddy smile. He nodded and grunted softly. I felt his warm hand wrap around mine and we continued to the tent. I sighed contently.

I noticed that Aldo's tent was larger than everyone elses'. Still not a fancy hotel like how I was used to, but it was a start. We entered and it didn't look as big as I had thought would be. I got my hopes up for nothing. I brushed it off and squinted my eyes through the dark and saw a large sleeping bag taking up most of the space. I suppose I'd be sleeping in that with him. Since it was more enclosed, we'd be sleeping pretty close to each other. I didn't want to admit it, but it made me thrilled. I watched Aldo intently as he took his jacket off and dropped it on the ground.

He got in the sleeping bag and I was still standing there awkwardly. "What are you waiting for, Gabrielle? Aren't ya tired?"

"Yeah, I guess so," I lied. I was wide awake. My stress was keeping me awake. I wasn't falling asleep anytime soon, but I lied in the sleeping bag anyway. I lied with my back facing him and his front was faced me. I stiffened as his hand rested on my hip.

"Let's try to stay together til the end, alright?"Aldo muttered in my ear drowsily.

I frowned. "Alright," I agreed. It just depended what he defined to be the end. I felt his weight move and he leaned toward me to kiss me on the cheek.

"Sweet dreams,"he murmured. I didn't say anything in reply. I was wrapped too tightly in my thoughts. Moments like these made me not want to do what I had to. I hadn't a clue what to do. This decision was too big for me. There was too much pressure. No matter what I decided to do, I'd lose a great deal.

I listened to the sound of the nocturnal bugs making their cries and tried to keep my mind off of everything. I was so tired, but I couldn't sleep because I had too much to think about. Aldo, who was still holding me, snored lightly. He was lucky enough to have fallen asleep.

I sat up in the sleeping bag and faced Aldo. I stared down at his sleeping face. When he was sleeping, he seemed as harmless as a newborn. He didn't look like the ring leader of the Nazi killers, or that obnoxious guy who would insult me every chance that he had, but he did look like the guy who loved me and would comfort me whenever I needed it. "Aldo?" I called unsure. "Are you awake?"

He groaned. "Am now...What is it?" He inquired groggily.

"I'm going to go for a walk."

"You want me to come?" I could tell by his tone that he was reluctant, but he would tag along if I asked him to.

I shook my head, although he couldn't see. "No, it's alright. I need to clear my head."

"Alright." I felt his hand grab the back of my neck and roughly pulled me toward him. He kissed me softly. "Hurry back," He warned.

"Okay," I agreed absentmindedly. I stumbled out of the tent and stood right outside of the in thought. I was starstruck. That caused a new problem to arise in my head. What was Aldo and my relationship? It was impossible for Aldo and I to be more than friends. I was already engaged to Landa.

_I was laying in a king sized bed, leaning against the headboard after a long night of passionate love making. I had just gotten out of the shower and was sitting in a night gown. An expensive one, might I add. I couldn't imagine not having this lifestyle. Everything that I owned was by far the best. _

_Finally, Landa exited the restroom wearing a robe. He crawled on to the bed and sat with me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him in to an embrace, while he rested his hands on my waist. I kissed him on the cheek softly. _

_He said, "It's going to be lonely here when you leave tomorrow." The next morning, I was going to be gone. That was the day my mission was going to begin. That was why we were cherishing our last night together. It was going to be a while until I came back. _

_"I'm going to miss it here,"I replied. _

_"So that you have something to look forward to when you come back..." He began. He reached in to the front pocket of his robe and pulled out a small box. He clicked it open and when I saw what it contained, my breath was taken away. It was gorgeous! A gleaming diamond ring. The size of it was amazing! It must have been worth diamonds. It was an engagement ring, but I was more amused by the ring itself than the actual engagement. _

_"Cecile, will you marry me?" he proposed looking in to my eyes with desire. _

_I squealed in response, "Yes!" I crashed my lips upon his. _

_He pulled away and promised me, "Whenever you return from your mission, we'll get married."_

I wondered if agreeing to marry him was a mistake. The only reason I agreed was for the power. The fortune, the fame, and of course the security. I was thankful for everything he's done for me, but did I really love him? I began getting involved with him when I was desperate for a way out of my previous life. I couldn't bear to think about what my life used to be like before I met him.

I began walking in to the forest, unaware of the dormant monster hidden in the shadows.

**I heard a rustling come from one of the tents and my eyes instantly darted in the direction and I spotted that wench crawl out of Aldo's tent. I was planning on going to sleep after I finished smoking my last cigarette, but she gave me reason not to. She seemed to be unaware of my presence because she just stood there for a few minutes immobilized. I wondered what was running through her thick skull. **

**Finally, she headed in to the forest. I thought that I better check it out. I warned her that once I had evidence that she's really Cecile, she's dead. It was so easy for me to catch on to her scheme, but of course it wasn't going to be as simple for everyone else. Their judgement was fogged because they liked her too much. Of course I used to like her too, but I wasn't going to be another fool. **

**I dropped my cigarette on the ground and squashed it with the bottom of my shoe. I'd do that to Cecile soon enough. I had a good feeling that tonight I'd get the proof which I needed. I followed her in to the woods with stealth. She must have thought she was alone because she didn't show any signs of alarm. **

**The one thing that I couldn't stand was a rat, and she was the worst kind. I've been wanting to kill her ever since I learned her secret. I had a feeling that Aldo wouldn't let me though, but atleast I'd burst her bubble. **

As I began walking, I could have sworn I heard something. It must have been some animal, so I didn't bother to stop or grow suspicion. With each step I took, my mind began wandering to everything that's been keeping me awake, and my body was falling asleep on me. My feet dragged me forward with each step that I took.

What was I going to do about Aldo? I had my mind set on fulfilling my mission, but how could I? I managed to fall in love with him. I've never felt in love like this before, not even when it comes to Landa. This was more than a mere crush. What to do...What to do...

You'd think this decision would come easy to me, but it didn't. There was too much to think over and naturally not enough time to contemplate it all. I'd have to pick a side and devise a plan. Time was running out.

I stopped walking when I reached a clearing in the forest. It was the same spot where I poured my heart out to Aldo earlier in the night. It was brighter here because the moonlight broke through the shield of the trees in this one particular spot. I heard that damn rustle in the leaves again. The noise was too loud to be some rodent, so it must have been one of the Basterds.

I demanded grouchily, "I know you're there. You might as well come out now." When the person emerged I think my eyes popped out of my skull. It wasn't the person I was expecting to see. Not even close. For one, it wasn't a Basterd. The opposite, actually. It was a Nazi with a smug look on his face.

He spoke in German. My _favorite_ language. "Cecile, I presume?" He already knew the answer to that. He was just trying to be a smart ass.

I decided I'd be the one to ask questions. "What do you want? You shouldn't be here," I snapped at him. I needed some information from him, but that didn't mean that I had to like him. I could determine already that he was a snob.

"For your information, I've come bearing a message." He smirked down at me. He knows that I wanted to know badly. He was just teasing me.

"From Landa?" I questioned in hope.

He nodded. "Precisely." That made me happy. Landa does care about me! "You see...He's been curious as to what you've been up to this whole time. You've been taking an awful long time with this mission." Damn. I thought Landa was checking up on me because he cared about my well being. Way to throw my hopes out the window.

I glared at him. "This isn't something that can be done overnight. It's not that simple."

He hissed, "That's not the point! Colonel Landa feels that you're too..." He paused to search for the most fitting word. "Fickle! Ah, that's it."

I stated enraged, "You're trying to call me a traitor!" I haven't even betrayed them! Not yet at least. I bet he wouldn't have suggested that if the knew I had 'full' intentions of completing my mission.

To my surprise, he plucked my forehead. Hard. I scowled at him. Who did he think he was! "Don't shoot the messenger!"he scolded. "Anyway, your mission should have ended a long time ago. It's understood this mission can't be done in a day, but the Basterds becoming more successful. That's why everyone has suspicions that you had something to do with it."

I defended myself, "Of course not! I never contributed to their efforts, but I couldn't stop them!"

He narrowed his eyes at me. "You could have done _something_."

I countered, "Not without seeming suspicious."

"Never mind that..." I watched him in anxiety as he dug through his pockets. He pulled out a shiny silver gun. "Your mission shall end tonight," he said and grabbed my hand and jabbed the gun in it. I snatched my hand back from him. "I'm sure that you'll figure out what to do with this," He scoffed.

Without bidding adieu, he left me standing in the middle of the woods alone, or so I thought. I looked down at the gun as it shined in the brightness of the night. It felt so cold. So heartless. It made me realize just how real this mission was. This was crucial. Now I didn't believe that I could do this. I wasn't prepared to kill them, or even hurt them. I slipped the gun in to my pocket and began walking.

I visualized shooting Aldo when he was asleep. Donny, Smithson, even Hugo. I only named a few and I felt sick to my stomach. I couldn't imagine claiming their lives. I didn't want to see the life pour out of their sleeping faces as the bullet went through them. I'd rather die than have to go through that. I wasn't going to do it. I didn't care what my country thought. I wasn't going to kill them.

Suddenly, a hand wrapped around my neck tightly and pressed something cold and sharp press against my neck and I froze. "I know everything now, Cecile." Hugo...How could I be so stupid! I should've made sure that no one was following me! This was the worst case scenario. I didn't want them to know about what I was really doing. Especially not Aldo.

"Hugo, don't over react, please," I begged. "It's...It's not like that, please believe me." I knew that he wasn't going to listen to me, but it was worth a shot.

"Why should I listen to you. You've been lying to us this whole time. I'm sick of your lies," he spat.

"Hugo, please!" I cried. "Be rational for one minute. Let's talk about this!"

"There's nothing to talk about. You're dead!" He promised. He pressed the knife against my neck further and pushed me, signaling me to began walking.

"Don't do this! I'm begging you! I don't want Aldo to know," I wheezed. Tears began falling from my eyes. I didn't want it to some to this.

He snarled, "Were you planning to kill him before he did! Do you think we're fools? You traitor!" Next thing I knew, I was pushed on to the ground forcefully. His hand tangled around my grimy hair and squeezed tightly as he dragged me by it. I bit my lip and tried to hold back my screams, but I failed. I looked ahead with my blurred vision and saw that we were at camp.

"Why don't you wake them up..." He squeezed my hair even tighter and I didn't mean to, but I let out a loud shriek. The flashlights in various tents lit up. Donny was the first to emmerge from his tent.

"What are you doing, Hugo!" Donny demanded and stormed over to us and yanked me out of Hugo's grip. Hugo let go of me quickly, not wanting to touch me as if I was a rodent.

Hugo shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away from us. He stated, "You should be asking her that..."

Donny pulled me close to him so that my face was buried in his chest and I latched my arms around his waist fearing the worst. I knew that he'd always protect me, but would he when he knows the truth?

"What in the hell is going on!" Aldo boomed. "Gabrielle?" I turned around to look at him. Tears continued to fall. I couldn't believe this was happening. Aldo was going to hate me.

Hugo mocked, "She prefers to be called Cecile."

Aldo sighed. "Don't tell me it's true..." I looked at the rest of their faces. Everyone here was expecting to hear this. I looked up at Donny and he was looking away from me. His grip on me loosened discreetly. Ashamed, I let go of his waist. He had his arm on my shoulder lightly.

"Stop Hugo," I whimpered. I knew he wasn't going to. He hadn't any pity for someone like me.

He continued, "She's Landa's spy. Tonight she was supposed to kill us. Isn't that right Cecile?" He grabbed my arm and snatched me away from Donny. He swiftly dug in to my pocket and pulled out that gun. My eyes widened as did everyone else's. I looked at Aldo in despair. He stared at the gun with no traces of emotion on his face. No anger. No remorse. Did he even care? Perhaps, he was trying to hide his emotions. "Aldo. Do you really need any more proof?" Hugo released me and pushed me toward Donny. I fell on my knees from the force. Reluctantly, I peeked up at Aldo. His face was in his hand. I waited for Aldo to say something. Anything.

"Just look at her hair," Hugo added and pushed some of my hair to the side where the blond popped out. "This is her natural hair color. We all know that Cecile is blond."

Aldo was still silent. He didn't know what to do. "We could kill her now. She's dangerous."

Aldo finally spoke, "No. We won't kill her. Gabrielle-Cecile, whoever you are...you can't stay with us anymore. Leave, now!" He was infuriated, but I heart a hint of sadness.

"B-but, you said that I could stay with you as long as I wanted, Aldo!" I stuttered. "You lied to me!" I cried.

He growled in irritation, "That makes two of us."

I looked at Donny. He looked away from me disgraced. "Donny," I whimpered. "You said you'd protect me!" He stayed silent and continued to avoid eye contact. Everyone else mimicked his action. They were waiting for me to leave. "Fine! I don't need you guys!" I screamed outraged. I jumped to my feet and ran in to the forest in the direction of Paris.

My feet crumbled the leaves under me as I sprinted the fastest I could through the forest. Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. It would've been comforting to hear a, "Don't go!", or, "Come back!", rather than the buzzing of insects and the silence of the night. Of course, their pleading wouldn't have stopped me, but like I said, it would have been comforting. I didn't know what to do with myself so I'd run until my feet bled.

"Should we let her go?" Donny asked his leader remorsefully.

Aldo hesitated. "...Yeah. We wouldn't be able to do anything besides kill her." Aldo was hit hardest by the news. He caught on to the truth about her a while ago, but by then it was too late. He was in love with her. It didn't come easy to him to hurt the ones that he loved.

He didn't care about who she was. He just didn't want to lose her.

_AN: Wee! There's a lot going on in this one ;D Review please, they mean a lot. :]_


	16. Whores

_AN: Hope u guys like it! :D_

I must have been more drowsy than I thought because I randomly began stripping out of my clothes without even a brief check to see if anyone was in the area. The last thing I wanted was to be alone, so I guess my impartial thoughts summed up that if I was taking a bath, someone would come along. All of the times I had to bathe outdoors, someone would always prowl up on me. I still remember when Hugo came the last time. Aldo's clothes, which were laying on to the ground earlier untidily, was a reminder of the event. It was the last time that Hugo was kind to me. It was also a reminder of how much I missed them. That was the problem though! I didn't want to miss them! I wanted to forget ever being involved with them!

Without my control, tears snaked out of my eyes. This was all too real for me. Especially the pain. I wanted it to go away now, but that was impossible. Running from it all was futile. Only time could heal me.

I pushed away my tears and cleaned my face with the water. I felt like a fool breaking down like this. Before I met the Basterds, with one stray tear, I'd be humiliated. I used to be as tough as nails. Nothing could get me so upset that I was pushed to the brink. They've made me humane, but I couldn't distinguish if it was a good thing or not.

Nevertheless, I hauled myself out of the water. Without anything to dry off with, I hastily put on the clothes, feeling the coldness of the morning. I continued on to my quest on to Paris. I couldn't help but to wonder who I would run in to when I got there. Maybe Landa, or what I secretly hoped for, the Basterds.

When I finally reached Paris, I felt like I was in wonderland. It was beautiful there. There was so many buildings, homes, stores. So much to see. Even though the day was still early, many people were bustling in the streets. A couple of German soldiers greeted me Good Morning. It cheered me up just a smidgen. I guess I didn't look as horrid as I thought, but int he back of my mind seeing Nazi's troubled me. I thought of them as the enemy now. I almost laughed out loud at my silliness. What an absurd idea!

I headed in to a resturant filled with worry and asked permission to use the phone and permission was granted. My hands shook as I dialed in the numbers. I felt anxious to speak to him now. I needed to relax. I had to remember, it was only Landa. He would understand. I was sure of it.

My nerves builded up more and more with each ring of the phone, but at last, a voice answered, but not the voice I was awaiting. "Hello?" a woman's voice answered. I was sure that Landa didn't have any maids, and she sounded too young to be his mother. There was only one logical explanation. I must have dialed the wrong number. It was an easy mistake, since my hand was a little bit shaky.

I apologized, "I thought this was Hans Landa's number. Sorry for the bother..."

I was about to hand up, but she rioted to me, "No, hun! This is the night number! You want to talk to Hans or something!" So she was good enough to be on a first name basis with him! I wanted to know who the hell she was! I was positive that she was no relative of his because she was too trashy. She sounded like she was hungover after a long night at the bar! She screamed in to the phone like a moron.

"If you don't mind..." I growled irritated. If I ever met her, I'd rip ever hair from her skull.

"Hans!" I heard her call over the line. "I think it's that whore Cecile!" She laughed hysterically. I could feel my skin heat up.

"Did you kill them?" That was the first thing that Landa said to me. Did he even care about me anymore?

"No. I failed. Before I could do anything, they discovered who I was," I admitted, bowing my head shamefully.

"That's okay sweetheart. I just want you to come back home," was what I was wishing for him to say. Instead, I was slapped in the face with silence.

"Where are you Hans? I want to go home," I whined, beginning to feel abandonment issues. I felt so alone in a such a huge city.

"I'm about to go on the road again." I heard that woman giggle loudly in the background. I clenched my fist. "You can't return home right now. It's being remodeled," he told me heartlessly.

I cried in a panic, "Then where do you expect me to go?"

"Rent a hotel. Just say that I shall reimburse them." Was he trying to ditch me? After all that I've done for him? I felt so used...

I reminded him in attempts to make him feel guilty, "I still have my ring, Hans. You promised that we'd get married once I retu-"

He interrupted me, "I must go immediately. Sorry Cecile." I heard that cold click, indicating that he hung up on me. Was he sorry for screwing me over, or leaving so abruptly, that's what I wanted to know!

I stood there for a few moments completely still. How could I not have seen this coming? I had been replaced. When I was with Hans, I wasn't much different than that woman. How could I be so foolish to think that he really loved me? I was just another whore to him. Something he could replace in a heartbeat.

_It was a long time ago when I'd be on the streets every night doing things that I wasn't very proud of. I'll put it this way, I was wearing a coat with nothing under it. You put the pieces together. This was the time in my life where I hit my lowest low. I wasn't dependant on Landa yet. I met him by this point, but we were not involved with each other. _

_I wasn't doing such a dirty deed because I was too lazy to do real work. It was because I couldn't get a legitamite job. I had been fired from the cafe` I had been working at. I had spilled a small amount of coffee on an S.S. officer and got fired instantly. I was still angry at myself for the costly mistake._

_I had no family to depend on, so this is what I was forced to do. One night of my new job, if you can call it a real job, I had seen a familiar face that I wasn't expecting to see in a place like this. Hans Landa. I saw him speaking to one of my 'co-workers'. Her and a few more worked on the same street. It made work easier and safer. It was nice being able to sympathize and vent to each other, but more importantly, being in a group ensured that no one would harm us. _

_Hans hadn't seen me yet. I wondered if he was in to this stuff. I didn't know him very well at the time, so I really didn't know what type of man he was. _

_He had his back to me, but something possessed him to turn his head and he realized that I was standing there gawking at him. I blushed and looked away quickly. I peaked at him and he finished speaking to her and then turned and approached me. I kept my eyes on the ground in embarrassment._

_"Cecile!" My head shot up. I was shocked that he remembered my name. I had only said it once. "What are you doing out here!" He sounded alarmed. I got my hopes up thinking that he cared._

_"I got fired from my job," I admitted, not able to look in to his eyes. I hope he got the hint. I was too proud to call myself a whore. _

_"Why don't you come home with me? I could get you a real job. Like in modeling, perhaps?"_

_I had no choice but to go with him and hope that I liked him and he wasn't a bad guy. I thought that I was special at the time, but I wasn't aware of all of the whores who have stepped foot in his bedroom. I guess I was just lucky enough to be in a steady relationship with him._

I couldn't return to that tragic life. Not without a fight. I wasn't going to just play dead, and let Hans think that he tricked another woman. More importantly, I wasn't going to let the ones I cared about slip through my fingers.

"Honey, hurry up! You're not the only one who needs to use the phone!" a waitress growled at me. I slammed the phone down and sprinted past her in to the streets.

Hans said that he would pay for the expenses if I rented a hotel. I figured, he would pay for the expenses on anything else as long as I said that it was in his name. Before he officially threw me in the garbage, I was going to get as much from him as I possibly could.

Prior to getting down to buisness, I had to tend to my hygine. I was presented with an opportunity to look my best, and I was going to take it. I was tired of looking like 'one of the guys'. I wanted to be pretty again.

I entered a clothing store feeling awkward already. It seemed to be one of the most expensive stores in the city. Perfect. I began looking through racks of clothing in search of not only something that suited me, but was also very pricey. I could feel the sales woman's beady eyes on my back as I searched in a deranged manor. I didn't blame her either. I had to look like a needy lunatic who was preparing to rob the store.

I was still wearing Aldo's clothes which were twice the size of me and I looked like I haven't had a proper bath in weeks. Which I haven't. I dind't consider anything outdoors being proper. It wasn't my finest hour, and I knew it, but my pride was vacant.

I decided to get multiple outfits. I got a bunch of outfits and dresses and I wasn't quite sure what possessed me to get it, but a fancy dress. I jolted to the register before I could think myself out of getting all of the stuff.

As the woman rung up everything, she sent me a suspicious stares. I didn't even really listen when she said the price. All I knew was that it was high. I looked her dead in the eyes so she would know I was telling the partial truth. "Colonel Hans Landa said that he would pay for this."

She put her hand on her hip, exibiting an attitude. "Do you really expect me to believe that?"

"Yes I do, because I'm Cecile. If you make me wait any longer, I'll have this store demolished."

She stared at me wide eyed and stayed silent for a moment. She was trying to determine whether or not to believe it. "O-okay," she stuttered. She didn't want to take the risk. "I just didn't know that he was still with you," she stated, but I didn't care to listen about anything involving that bastard. I thanked her and took my bag.

Next on my agenda was to rent a hotel. God knows how long I was going to stay here. I rented out the biggest room for a month. Why the biggest, and why for a month? I wasn't staying nearly that long, and I really only needed a room for one person. It was to piss off Landa. Once he figures out how much I spent on his behalf, he'll be furious. It was his fault. He should have taken me more seriously.

I walked to my room, swinging my bag as I walked. I thought that this would make me feel better, but I felt the same. This revenge would mean nothing to him. He probably wouldn't even notice a few extra bills. He was too powerful so I couldn't touch him.

When I reached the hotel, I was more than anxious to get in to the shower. To wash away my filth, and also clear my head. Afterwards, I put on a red casual dress which reached my knees, with a black jacket. I had also got new black heels, so I wore that with it.

One last thing, and I'd be good to go. I headed in to a salon. I had the hair stylist blow dry my hair and re-die it brown so that there weren't random patches of blonde sticking out. She also trimmed it to make it more even. As for paying, I pulled the same thing I had been doing the whole night at the hotel and the store, and it worked perfectly this time.

I caught my reflection in a mirror, and I was pleased. I haven't looked this good in a long time. Now when I saw _them_ again, I'd be perfect.

_AN: Alright guys, not a lot of action goin on, but it's 'setting the stage'. In the next one, a lot is going to be happening, I promise. But now since the story is getting close to the end, I need some er help deciding who Cecile is going to end up with. The choices are Hugo or Aldo. Lemme know who you want in the review. I'll go for whoever has the most votes :)_


	17. Indestructible

_AN: So this chapter is half of the length of a normal chapter. Because I'm going to a concer later today for There For Tomorrow and I"m going to be busy the rest of the week til Sat, so I didn't want an update to take forever. _

_And Thanks for all of the reviews from the last chapter! :)_

I stood outside the bar completely still. I was debating if it was a good idea to go in. Of course it wasn't, but I just had to. Before everything was ruined and when Aldo would tell me everything, he mentioned that they'd be in the bar which I was standing in front of, to get information about that operation. Whatever the hell it was. The bar was in a basement, so I couldn't see what was going on in there. I wondered if it was right to go in. They probably wanted me dead right now. I was fully aware that I was pressing my luck. In fact, I was fortunate enough to walk away from the Basterds alive.

If I were to go inside, I didn't know what to say to them. Telling them sorry wouldn't be nearly enough. I turned out to be everything that they thought I wasn't. I didn't think that was forgivable under their standards. The one thing that I absolutely didn't need right now was rejection from them. I knew what that felt like. I suppose I didn't really have a choice. If they rejected me, I just had to deal with it. I had to at least try. If I leave them alone here, I'll regret it forever. I didn't have very much to lose (other than my dignity), so I had to give it a shot. There was nothing else for me to live for now, without them. Since Landa abandoned me, I was nothing more than dust.

My knees buckled, but I pushed foward, attempting to mask my fear with courage. When I stood at the bottom of the stairs where the bar was, I scanned the room for any sign of the Basterds. The first person I saw was Hugo. My heart almost jumped out of my chest. Something was different about him. I wasn't afraid of him this time. I felt like I needed him. He was the only one that I could see. No one else in there entranced me the same way.

I began to walk toward the table. I passed a bunch a table of German officers and I could feel their eyes glued to me, but that didn't matter. As I got closer, I realized that there was a Nazi sitting at their table, right next to Hugo. That couldn't be good. Also at the table was Bridget von Hammersmark, with Wicki next to her, and an unknown man, on her other side.

I soon realized that the Nazi had a gun pointed at the man who I didn't know, and he was pointing one right back at him, while Hugo had his gun pointed at the Nazi. The nearby table was over populated with Nazi's. If gun shots were to break out, they would be out numbered. I pretty much just walked in to a mass murder, but I didn't care. Bridget and Wicki tried their hard not to show it, but I could tell that they were nervous and hadn't a clue what to do. Lucky for them, I did.

"Cecile! So nice of you to join us!" Bridget greeted me in German, like an old friend, trying to play it off and possibly get us out of the situation. Hugo turned his head and stared at me curiously, while the Nazi glared at me trying to figure out what I was doing here. I had a mouthful for him...

I grabbed him by his collar, and jerked him to his feet. I wouldn't allow anyone to fuck with the Basterds. No one besides me, that is. He held his gun at his side. He gave me the nastiest look that warned me that if I did anything out of line, he'd blow my brains out. I should have been careful, but I was too irational because I was influenced by my emotions. I was still bothered by the fact that Landa used me. This man couldn't be much better than him. They were all the same to me now.

I demanded, "You're up to something! Leave, right now!"

He smacked my hands off of his jacket. "You really think that you can stop me, Cecile?" he mocked.

"Do you know who I am! I could have Landa kill you!" If he knew that Landa had practically disowned me, I'd be stumped. My authority that was slipping from me could be the only thing that could prevent everyone in the room from shooting each other to death.

"I know _exactly_ who you are." I got my hopes up thinking that my threat effected him, but then he said, "You're a whore who still doesn't know her place! Landa doesn't want you anymore! Are you not smart enough to figure it out?" Shit. He read me like a book.

He stared at me smugly when I remained silent with a wrathful look in my eyes. Now what the hell could I do to get us out of this mess?

"Leave now," he said sharply. Right now there was an imaginary big red light cautioning me to just stop as he told me, but did I listen. Then again, do I ever listen?

"Sure, Just come with me." I put my hands on my hips and stood my ground.

"You insolent bitch! Who do you think you are!" he screamed, becoming angry for the first time. I could feel everyone's eyes turn to us. It seemed like everything was going in slow motion. It seemed like I forgot how to breathe when he raised his gun at me and squeezed the trigger. The bullet hit through my shouder. My hand shot up where the bullet hit immediately and I already felt the warm ooze pouring out. I cried in agony. I stumbled back and stared at everyone's faces embarrassed. It never made you the cool kid when you get shot.

I watched as Hugo stood and pointed the Nazi who was facing away from him, staring down at me smirking. Once that shot was made, all hell broke loose. My first instinct was to be sure that nothing happened to Hugo. Since the Nazi was flat on the ground, dead of course, I stepped on him and lunged at Hugo who was taking a shot at the other Nazi in the bar.

It sure wasn't the most clever thing I've done, but it got the both of us out of danger. That's all I was concerned about. Now, I was laying perfectly flat upon Hugo, who must've been _delighted_. The blood that was leaking from my shoulder was probably smudging on to him. He must've been pretty excited about that too. He stared up at me in disbelief and confusion.

I felt tears seaping from my eyes. Not only because my wound was killing me, but also because I was afraid. I could die in here. I was just as concerned about Hugo living through this. If Hugo died here, I don't know what I would do with myself. I've always pictured him to be indestructible. If he died, what hope would I have?

He attempted to push me off of him, but I stopped him. Over the noise of the gun shots, I begged him, "Please stay down. If you get back up, you'll die for sure."

"You're expecting me to just stay down here and let everyone else die!" That made me sound pretty selfish, and I almost felt pity, but not quite. I needed him, and I refused to let him die.

"Hugo, I need you. You'll die too if you go back!" I whined. I wish that he'd listen to me.

He reminded me, "We don't have a better chance of surviving down here. We look weak."

"We'll survive down here. Trust me." Just as I said that, a bullet shot in my hand. I bit my lip tightly to supress my screams. If he knew there was a chance of us getting shot down here, he'd go back and I couldn't have that happen. To be honest, I didn't know if it really was much safer under a table. Probably not by much. All we could do was wait till the shooting ceased. I squeezed my eyes shut tight. I could only pray that we'd get out of here alive.

_AN: Hugo and Cecile finally had a moment where he didn't want to kill her :3 I hope u guys liked it! Review please! :D The voiting is still on!_

_Also, one of my friends on this site,(SunflowerNightmares) after having one death at their school, now Sarah Caltrider died in a car accident at age 15, so please keep the Caltrider family in your prayers. Thank you_


	18. Trust Me

**AN: Hello my lovely readers! :) Thanks for revs on the last chap! I got this one out pretty fast, neh? My goal is to finish this story by August. I don't know if I could do it, but I'll attempt X3 Enjoy the chap!**

I stared down at Hugo while my heart beat rapidly. I was self conscious that he could feel the beating because my chest was pressed against him so tightly. I gripped his shoulders with both hands for dear life. He looked back at me with his eye brows furrowed. The shooting had finally stopped, and the bar became deathly silent. We were both in awe that we actually survived that. I looked away from Hugo and across the floor and saw many bodies were eye level with us. Both Nazi's and Basterds.

With the position of laying on top of Hugo becoming awkward, I slid off of him and emerged from under the table. He followed in suit and we both stared at the corpses with wide eyes. I found myself fascinated by the multiple bullet holes that went through their skin, and the blood that began to drench their clothes. I shivered as I thought that it could have been us. I held my hands together tightly, and close to my chest, trying to stop them from shaking. The blood from injured hand smudged on to the other.

Breaking the eerie silence, I said to Hugo morbidly, "See? We could have ended up like them."

Remembering that I had been shot twice, the pain re-surfaced. One bullet was in my shoulder. The other in my hand. That warm liquid continued to seep out dew to not tending to the wounds. It had been the first time I've ever been shot. I've never felt this much pain before. It was driving me insane.

"How did this happen?" Hugo asked me. I could see curiosity haunting in his eyes. He grabbed my hand not as gently as he intended, causing me to wince. He examined it thoroughly and he was sure to poke the bullet hole to see how deep it was. I whimpered lowly, signaling him to stop. He brushed the blood off on his pants, and shoved them in his pockets. He stared at me expectantly, waiting for me to answer his question.

"One of the gun shots reached under the table. What else would have happened?"

"You should get that checked out," he muttered after staring at me thoughtfully with the eyes of a wolf that seemed to see right through me.

"Is anyone alive down there!" I heard Aldo holler from the stairs. Merely his voice seemed to relieve my pain. I thought that I had been finished with all of those big decisions, but clearly I was wrong. Although I originally chose the wrong side, that seemed like the easy part now. I felt the same type of love for both Aldo and Hugo, and I was unsure if it was mutual. I hoped that I wouldn't have to choose between the two any time soon, because I wouldn't have a clue what to do. It was funny how simple my life used to be before I met the Basterds. The biggest decision I had in a day was choosing between pink or red nail polish. Now, if I chose wrong, I wouldn't just be stuck with a bad color. I could be destined to loneliness.

"Yeah!" Hugo and I called at the same time. I jerked my head at him, but looked away embarrassed. I looked by the stair case and saw Aldo

"I'm alive!" I jumped in surprise. I didn't realize that anyone else was alive. I looked down and surely enough, Bridget was sprawled on the floor calling for help. By the looks of it, she was in worse condition than I. Since she was in range of the gun shots, she had more bullet wounds than I did.

I looked back up at Aldo and he was stunned by my appearance We made eye contact as he made his way down the stairs but looked away from me. I could tell already that he was angry at me. I wasn't quite sure if it would be so easy to calm him down, but more importantly, gain his trust.

I watched Aldo intently as he kneeled down next to Bridget and examined her wounds. Bridget slapped Aldo's hands away from her and snapped, "What are you doing! We can't stay here any longer! Someone must have heard the gun shots!" I felt myself become irritated. How dare she talk to him like that, but she did have a point. Aldo nodded and proceeded to lift her from the floor since she was unable to walk, with groaning from her naturally. I knew that he was only holding her like that because of her condition, but I couldn't help but to be envious. It reminded me of that night where Aldo carried me on his back because I was exhausted from crying. I felt so safe when I was close to him like that. Thinking about it made me yearn for his touch.

I jumped slightly in alarm when Hugo placed a hand on the small of my back, and we began walking behind Aldo. We left the bar and quickly headed in to the truck. I felt so out of place because I knew that Aldo didn't want me there. I didn't really have a choice to stay behind because Hugo was dragging me with him. Hugo pushed me down lightly to sit on a crate. Across from me, Aldo set Bridget down on the floor so that she could stretch out her legs. The remaining Basterds were also in the truck. Smithson and Omar were sitting in the back with us while Donny sat in the front seat staring back at us concerned. The other ones must have been killed. After all, the life of a Basterd was pretty dangerous.

I looked down at my wounds and they weren't getting better. More and more blood spilled out, and I was starting to feel light headed.

"Now where do we go?" Aldo demanded.

I spoke up unsure, "I rented a room in a hotel. We could go there. I'm sure no one would bother us there." Aldo looked down at me judgmentally before looking away in thought. Probably thinking over their options. I suppose I didn't seem very reliable to say the least.

I shouldn't have expected him to go for that. He doesn't trust me anymore. "We can't take the chance of it bein' a trap," Aldo said finally while shaking his head.

"Aldo! It's not!" I denied, but of course I hadn't any proof to make him believe me. "You have to trust me!"

Hugo defended me, "She has no more connections with Landa." My eyes widened slightly and I looked at him in awe. I didn't expect him to stand up for me like that. I was pretty impressed.

"You sure bout that?" Aldo asked, cocking an eyebrow, and Hugo nodded. "Fine. It's not like we have much of a choice anyway..." He looked defeated. He went to the drivers seat and looked over his shoulder at me. "You gonna give me directions, or what?" I smiled and went closer to the drivers seat and leaned on the back of the seat close to him to give directions.

_Hugo's POV_

When we reached the hotel, the room was larger than I had expected. It looked very expensive as well. We all piled in to the main room. "Where's the phone. I gotta call that doctor," Aldo muttered to himself as he searched for a phone. I watched Cecile intently as she rushed to one of the bathrooms. Naturally, I followed her.

I pushed open the door which was cracked open slightly, and saw her desperately attempting to whipe off the blood with one of the towels. "What are you doing?"

She looked at me surprised. She hadn't been aware of my presence. "I'm trying to stop the bleeding! I'm losing too much blood!" she cried. She was hysterical. She probably thought that she was on the verge of death. I've seen people in worse condition than she was able to walk away alive.

I approached her and grabbed her wrist, examining the wound in her hand. "That's not helping. All you're doing is pushing the bullet in further." I put the towel on the counter and rested her hand on it. I pulled a knife out of my pocket and I saw the fear slowly rise in her eyes. I didn't say anything, and next I pulled out a lighter. I placed that on the counter and went to grab her hand, but she pulled it away before I could. "I have to fish out the bullet. Calm down."

"How am I supposed to be calm when you're going to poke me with that!" she exclaimed holding on to her injured hand as if it was breakable, like glass.

I stared at her and held out my hand waiting for her to trust me. "It's going to hurt. I won't lie to you, but it has to be done. "

She frowned and shakily moved her hand on to mine. The bullet went through her palm, so I wouldn't have to be as cautious about hitting a vain. I moved her hand on the counter with her palm facing up, of course. With a steady hand, I moved the knife in to the wound and fished around in it quickly so that she wouldn't be in pain for very long. I heard her begin to whine, but she bit her lip to remain silent. She was tough like that.

I guess I was more talented than I thought, because I got the bullet out fairly fast. She sighed loudly. "I'm happy that's over!"

I scoffed, "That was the easy part..." I grabbed the lighter and held the knife above it so that the knife would heat up.

"Should I dare to ask what the hard part is?" She was staring at the fire in terror.

"We have to make the bleeding stop somehow..." I closed the lighter and examined the knife and it seemed to be hot enough. Without warning her, I held her wrist steady, and pressed the knife on to the bleeding area. She inhaled sharply and began to groan.

She moaned, "You could have warned me!"

"Then you would have moved," I countered.

After about a minute or so, I removed the blade. That should be good enough. I searched the bathroom for gauze or something to wrap it up with. I couldn't find a first aid kit or anything. I should have expected that much. Instead, I grabbed one of the hotel towels. Good enough. I turned around and saw that Cecile had moved to sitting on the toilet. "How do you know how to do this stuff?" she asked bashfully.

"I used to be in the army. I've seen a lot of things..." I stated simply, not wanting to go in to detail. She left the topic alone. I had some questions for her too. I kneeled down and began to wrap up her hand.

"So why did you do it?"

"I don't know," she started, already aware of what I was talking about. "I guess I just feel drawn to you guys. I wasn't really thinking when I did it."

"I hope that's not more lies...I've heard about Landa leaving you for that new whore," I informed her.

"How did you know that!" she demanded. She looked mortified. I almost regretted bringing it up after seeing the look that she gave me.

"That's what those Nazi's were talking about in that bar before you arrived...well?"

She looked away from me because she must have felt humiliated. "I know what you're thinking. I'm just coming back because I have no where to go, but it's not like that. Not exactly...Landa leaving me made me realize...that I don't need him." I looked up at her after I finished up bandaging her. She seemed to be telling the truth. She added, "I don't even love him."

I couldn't deny that I still had feelings for her. She wasn't like other women. She was an outcast just like me. I felt connected to her because of that. I wondered if she felt the same way. There was only one way to find out...

_Aldo's POV_

I stormed in to the bed room where Bridget's injuries were being tended to by the doctor who had arrived. I ruthelessly pushed him out of the way and stood in front of Bridget. Donny stood at her other side, watching attentively.

"What were all of those Nazi's doin' there! If you're another traitor, I swear I'll..." I drove my pointer finger in to the hole where a bullet went though, causing her to cry out in agony.

"Aldo!" Donny hollered. "Calm down." I removed my finger slowly. I had to admit, I was taking my anger for Cecile out on her a just a little bit.

"It was a small bar. I wasn't expecting many people to be there. One of them was celebrating his son's birthday. That's why they were there," she groaned, still in pain.

"We lost two good men down there! This sounds like a set up!" I ranted. "And why was Cecile there?"

"No one told me she was coming. It was a surprise to me too. She just walked in. I don't know why she was there," she growled. "Why don't you ask her!"

"I will!" I hissed and stormed out of the room to the bathroom where Cecile was.

_Cecile's POV_

"Then...who do you love?" Hugo asked boldly. He pulled himself up and leaned in close to my face. I swear, we were about to kiss, but then Aldo barged in. I jerked back quickly, and not just because I was startled.

"I thought I told you to stay away from us the other night!" Aldo scolded me, looking down at me. I felt like a child being yelled at by a parent. "Wanna explain why the hell you were in that bar!" He placed his hand on his hip angrily.

Hugo stood up and remained at my side. I glanced up at him helplessly. "To save my ass. She's on our side now. She has no more Nazi connections," Hugo said.

"Ya can never be too sure..." Aldo mumbled. "What happened to you? Didn't you want to kill her a day ago?" he demanded sounding irritated.

Hugo replied simply, "Things change."

"Whatever ya say...But she's helping in operation kino!" Aldo promised.

Hugo argued, "No she's not!" Wonderful. The two that I loved were about to get in to a heated argument. I couldn't intervene and take a side, could I? That would be playing favorites. However, if I didn't, who knows how long they would argue for.

"To hell she isn't! She has to-"

I cut Aldo off while staring at the floor, "I'll do it..." They snapped their heads at me simultaneously. "I owe that much to you." I really did, and a whole lot more.

"Now you've done it," Hugo growled and folded his arms.

"Good honey," Aldo said sounding surprised still. He then left the bathroom.

After Aldo was gone, Hugo inquired, "It's him, isn't it?"

"What?" I chirped and began to blush. "How could you tell?" I looked down at the floor trying to hide the red on my face.

"The way you look at him. The way you get upset when he yells. The way you do anything to please him. The way you-" Okay. Now he was just being a smart ass.

"Okay! I get it!" Am I really that obvious? "You know...There's someone else too...Sorry. I must sound like a whore. I must be annoying you." I sounded slutty even to myself. I'd better chose who I liked more soon. I refuse to be a whore ever again.

"I'll only be annoyed if that someone else isn't me," he humored. I grinned at him, and for once, he mimicked. He kneeled down and his lips crashed on to mine. It was aggressive, but really sweet at the same time. His lips were so soft and delicate. When he pulled away, he declared, "It's going to be me. I'll kill him if I have to." I wasn't quite sure if that second part was a joke. He pulled me in to his chest for a hug and squeezed me. We were both reminded of the injury on my shoulder when I howled in pain.

**AN: Sooo the whole voting thing didn't really work out for me :O There were more Aldo votes than Hugo votes, but I'm still not sure. Hmm. Anyway, reviews would be nice! :)**

_(Hmm I just thought of tis, maybe in the revs, put three good reasons why C. should pick H. or A. You don't have to, but it would help me, like to see it from different point of views)_


	19. No Regrets

**AN: Ooowawiwa! Thanks for all of the amazing reviews guys! :) I hope u like the chapter**

"So are you ready for tomorrow?" Donny asked me bashfully after tossing me a grimy baseball, that he said he found in the back of the truck. It was so filthy that it was almost a brown color, courtesy to dirt and other disgusting stuff, and I wasn't very excited to know what exactly the gunk was. Under normal conditions, I would never ever touch something so vile, but of course, this wasn't normal conditions. I still remember on the first day I met Donny, he promised that he would play a game of ball with me. Of course, throwing it back and forth wasn't exactly the game we had in mind, it was good enough for me. When I had agreed to play with him, I never expected us to actually do it. I was just saying it to please him, but now I was glad that we actually did.

I caught the ball with my right hand that wasn't injured, but I couldn't say the same about my shoulder on that side. I grunted lowly to myself, not wanting Donny to hear. Luckily, he was a far enough distance to not be able to hear. If he did, he'd probably make me stop, but I didn't want to. Both Hugo and Aldo advised that I didn't in this condition, but Donny and I were able to persuade them. Him and I sure made a good duo. I was going to miss him a whole lot.

I felt content talking to him so leisurely and keeping busy like this. If we were sitting around talking, or worse in silence, my nerves would have driven me insane by now. I replied to him, "Of course not. I'm scared...I just hope that it all works out the way that we planned." Tomorrow was the day that we would supposedly end this damn war.

I tossed the baseball back to him. He said without a doubt, "I know that it will. We've worked too hard all this time. It _better_." I looked at his face and frowned when I saw that he was grinning. How could he be smiling at a time like this? Tomorrow he'd be...This was our last night together.

"Any chance I can talk you out of this?" I knew that the answer was no, but had to ask. I felt that familiar lump in my throat come back. I rubbed my eyes to be sure that tears didn't seep out. I was getting sick of all this crying.

"Nope! Don't tempt me...please," he begged. When he saw me looking at the ground in dismay, he closed the distance between us.

"I hate this..." I murmured. He pulled me in to his chest with one arm and looked up at the stars. I was determined to not cry for the millionth time. I had to be strong, or pretend to be. For his sake. "Are you scared?"

"No. Not yet at least. I'm not really thinking about it," he answered.

"Why did you have to volunteer yourself like that? Don't be a hero," I whined. I wasn't as supportive as I should have been, I suppose.

"It's fine. Really!" he assured me. "I think I'd rather die as a war hero, than dying an old man who plays cards all day. As long as people will remember me..." He placed the baseball in my hand. "I'm okay with it."

_Earlier that night..._

_ Hugo and I had just exited the bathroom when we walked in to everyone discussing Operation Kino. With gauze provided by the doctor who had left not too long ago, Hugo wrapped up my hand and shoulder. _

_ Bridget was laying down on the couch to rest her leg, and Smithson sat at the edge of the couch, nearly falling off. On the couch across from them, Donny and Omar sat next to each other. Aldo stood in between the two couches. "Any volunteers?" Aldo asked, gloomily. I sat next to Donny on the couch glancing at each of their desolate faces. _

_ Standing next to me, Hugo investigated, "For what?" That's exactly what I was wondering too. _

_ "For operation Kino. A suicide mission..." Aldo answered drearily. I couldn't believe what I heard. They couldn't do that. At this point, I didn't want to lose any of them. _

_ What was more unbelievable to me, was Donny raising his hand almost instantly, and vowing, "I'm in. As long as I get to kill some jew hatin' bitches." I stared at my lap completely still in the state of shock. I couldn't believe what I just heard. I couldn't lose him. Not like that! _

_ I reluctantly rose my eyes. Aldo nodded at Donny solemnly. Although Aldo attempted to conceal it, I could see that he was just as shaken as I was. Obviously he couldn't be sensitive and I have a mental break down like how I was. He was the leader. He had to stay strong for our sake. _

_ Bridget was the only one who wasn't affected emotionally, since she practically just met Donny, but she could still feel the tension. She added in a hushed voice, "You'll get a shot at Hitler himself. Nearly every important Nazi is going to be attending the premier."_

_ "I'll do it too then," Omar declared. I could sense reluctance in his voice. It made me feel worse. Donny must not be eager to do it either. Donny grinned at him and they exchanged a high five. How could they act so casual about it! I couldn't stand it! _

_ I jumped out of my seat with my fists clenched close to my chest. I couldn't let them go through with that. Finally, I begged, "No! You can't do that! There has to be another way!"_

_ "Honey, there's no way to win a war without...casualties. Don't make this harder than it has to be," Aldo explained. He was staring down at the floor. He was probably taking this harder than I was. _

_ "I thought that you'd be happy about that," Bridget scoffed. "You're on _**their**_ side anyway, aren't you? That's what Aldo kept saying."_

_ The second I hear her assume that I was a traitor, I stormed over to her, ready to hit her. I was anything except happy that they were going to die! I almost lunged at her, but Hugo wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me back, preventing me from doing something foolish. She didn't know anything! How dare she judge me like that! _

_ Aldo scolded loudly,"Enough!"_

_ "You don't know me!" I cried. "Sure I wasn't on their side from the start, but they're everything to me!" She looked up at me in disbelief. Irrationally, I snapped out of Hugo's grip and sprinted to the door. This time when I ran from them, they actually called me back. I was too frustrated and depressed to face them. _

_ I ended up fleeing to a nearby field and sat on a rotten bench and just cried. I didn't want to lose them! They were like family to me now, since I didn't have a real one anymore..._

_ All of a sudden, a hand grabbed my shoulder. I shrieked thinking it was a stranger, but when I twirled around, it was just Aldo. "Why did you run out on us like that! What if something happened to you!" he demanded sounding enraged. Did he really care what happened to me? I started getting my hopes up. _

_ "Why do you care!" I countered. "You're going around telling everyone I'm a traitor after all." He sat down next to me._

_ "Look. I was mad, but have to understand...you betrayed __**my**__ trust." _

_ That only made me cry harder. I buried my face within my hands. I couldn't believe we were having this conversation now. I just wanted everything to get better again. I just wanted this war to end so I could be happy with them! At the same time, that's impossible without losing two of them! "This can't get any worse!"_

_ "Stop acting like a kid," he sighed. "It's not helping the situation."_

_ "Why do they have to die! There has to be another way!" I whined. _

_ He gripped my shoulders. "You need to calm down. If there was another way, we would've thought of it by now. If you've got another plan, tell me now" I silently shook my head. "Exactly. Don't you think that two deaths are worth ending this war. "_

_ "I guess so...I still don't like it," I mumbled. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him. I buried my face in his shoulder. _

_ "You're going to have to stay strong for me. We need your help in operation Kino tomorrow."_

_ "What do I have to do?" I questioned hopelessly. I was most likely going to do it. I would do anything to help them. _

_ "It'll be safe enough for you..." He stood up and held his hand out to me. "Let's go back to the hotel and talk about it."_

_ "You're not mad at me any more? I mean...after all that I did?"_

_ He shook his head. He suggested. "Let's just pretend that it didn't happen. Deal?" _

_ I smiled and took his hand. "Deal."_

_ We went back to the hotel and planned everything out for the big day tomorrow. Afterward, that's when Donny took me back to the field to play some ball. It was my most cherished memory of him. _

I stared down at the baseball which Donny gave me. We were now sitting on one of the rusty benches, wrapped within our own thoughts. I stared up at the night sky. The stars seemed so far away. Soon, Donny and Omar were going to be far away from me like that. Aldo was right, there wasn't any other way. I couldn't stop the inevitable, but one thing was for sure...I wouldn't let them leave me without regrets.

**AN: This one is a little bit shorter than usual just so the next chap can be dedicated to Operation Kino :) I feel like this chapter was a lil confusing to read. I don't know :/ Anyway, review please! :D**


	20. Last Words

**AN: Hey readers! Thanks so much for the reviews and such! They mean so much! I'm really happy with this chapter. It ties up most of the lose ends, it's the longest one yet, and I got it out decently fast! :) Hope you guys like it! **

I slipped on a pair of black heels as I sat on my bed. I never thought I'd say this, but I was preparing for Operation Kino. I stood up and looked in to the small mirror which was connected to a dresser. I was wearing a red dress that reached my mid thigh. It was sleeveless, and I had a light boa wrapped around my arms and it was silver with discreet sparkles. I was just about to put on some make up, but then there was a knock at the door. I was in one of the rooms of the hotel.

"Come in!" I called. I watched the door glide open and Hugo walked in, closing the door behind him. "Hey."

"Hey. You look beautiful," he complimented. He sat down on the bed and I watched him intently through the mirror. I sat down at the chair that was at the dresser. On top of the dresser was make up.

I grinned. "Thanks Hugo." I reached for the eye liner. I planned to put on a whole lot for the occasion. I felt like I was attending a funeral.

"Are you planning on getting revenge on Landa tonight?" he asked. I looked at his reflection in surprise. I put down the eye liner and turned to look at him.

"Revenge? I don't know how..." I told him. He stood and walked over to me. From his pocket, he pulled out a gun and placed it on the dresser.

He looked me dead in the eyes and said simply, "That's how."

"I can't kill him. There has to be other ways to have revenge," I rationalized. The thought of killing him made me sick. I hated him right now, but I didn't have the guts to kill him. Even though him betraying me was unforgivable, he did do so much for me. Aside from taking me out of the streets, it was thanks to him that I met the Basterds.

He shrugged. "Not that I can think of." Something told me that he's done this method of vengeance before.

"I can't do that on my own," I said, shaken up.

"That's the only way to do it. If I did it for you, you wouldn't be satisfied," he stated. When I stayed silent, he added, "It's your choice."

I sighed. "I know. I don't know what I'm going to do yet." I grabbed crimson lip stick.

"Do whatever you want," he said before leaving the room. I looked down at the gun as I put on lip stick. He was too eager about suggesting the idea of killing Landa. I didn't know why. It's not as if I hinted that I wanted revenge. Maybe he just thought it would be amusing to see Landa die. How twisted is that? The thought of it made me sick.

Suddenly, another knock arose from the door. Wondering who it was, I hollered, "Come in!" To my surprise, Bridget walked in. I put my lip stick down. I watched her step inside and carefully close the door behind her. Suspiciously, I inquired. "What is it?"

She approached me and snatched the lip stick from the dresser. I glared at her and waited to see what she wanted before I yelled at her. "You seem to have Aldo and Hugo wrapped around your finger..." she stated. Did I? All I knew was that I loved both of them. I was always unsure how they felt about me. Hearing that made me a little happy. That means no matter who I chose, I wouldn't end up alone. The only hard part was the choice itself. She looked at me expectingly as she put on the lip stick.

"That's ridiculous," I denied.

She rolled her eyes. "Which one do you want?"

I scowled at her. "Why do _you_ care about my love life?" She placed my lip stick on the dresser again when she was done.

"I don't. I want one of them, and I don't want to interfere with anything," she corrected. She placed a hand on her hip. She was wearing a sparkling black dress that reached the floor. Along with that, she was wearing a fluffy white boa and white arm warmers that reached nearly her shoulder. Her hair rested freely from the roots and seemed to fall in to many perfect waves. She was much prettier than I was. On top of that, the lip stick looked better on her than it did on me. She could steal either guy from me with ease.

"Which one?" I questioned anxiously.

She smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know..." she teased, knowing that it would agitate me. Which it did. "You didn't answer my question. Which one do you want?"

I looked up at her while fishing through my brain for a smart remark, but nothing came to mind. I broke eye contact and finally admitted defeated, "I don't know." I rested my elbow on the table and buried my face in my hand.

I peaked at her and saw that she was marveling at a coin between her fingers. "How about this then...Heads, Aldo. Tails, Hugo," she proposed showing me both sides of the coin. I shook my head and didn't reply. "Hmmp" With that, she flipped the coin above her head. It seemed to go in slow motion. I couldn't leave something like that to chance. Once it was eye level with me, I sprung from my seat and caught it before it hit the ground. "Well?"

I slowly opened my fist and took a glimpse at the coin. It was heads. "That was pointless," I scoffed and slammed it down on the floor.

I quickly stuffed the gun in to my purse and glanced down at the baseball in it affectionately before closing it. Bridget leaned over to pick it up. "Heads," she stated with a grin.

"Wait! Does that mean you like...Hugo?" I asked skeptically.

She smirked and without saying anything else, she left the room. Somehow, I wasn't exactly jealous after hearing that. I sighed and left the room as well. I looked in the room next to mine and saw the door was open a crack. I pushed it open slowly and saw Aldo standing in front of a mirror struggling to get the red tie on to go with his white suit. He looked...Amazing. I've never seen him wear something like that.

He turned around when he noticed my presence. "Wow honey." He didn't bother to hide his smile, and neither did I. I watched his eyes travel. "You look amazin'."

I walked to him. "Thanks. You don't look too bad yourself...except that tie. Do you need help?" I humored. Not the best pick up line, but it worked.

"Sure," he agreed. I went to put the bow tie around his neck, but I became interested with that scar on his neck. I let my hand graze it delicately.

"Hey Aldo...How did you get this scar?" I asked him self consciously. I was unsure if it was a sensitive topic for him.

He looked at me in astonishment. "I got it a long time ago. It was from a lynchin'."

"What?" I whined. I finished putting his tie on correctly. "That's brutal!" Hearing that made my heart sink. It hurts to think about the one you love in pain.

He shrugged. "I've seen worse."

"Wow. That's bad enough..."I muttered.

I went to leave the room thinking that he was going to follow, but he asked me randomly, "What do you plan to do after everything is over, honey?"

I turned to look at him. "I don't know. I haven't given it much thought," I answered honestly. "I'll definitely have to leave the country. I'll be a traitor after all."

"Once every thing is settled, you should come with me back to Tennessee," he offered with hope in his eyes, sweat in his palms.

I felt my heart flutter in my chest. "Tennessee?" I repeated, already liking the sound of it.

He came closer to me. He brushed a strand of hair away from my face gently. "You'll like it. You'll be away from all of the bull shit. I think we've both had enough of it here."

I nodded in agreement. Anxiously, he asked, "So what's your answer?"

Without thinking about Hugo, I replied gleefully, "My answer is yes!" Without warning, I wrapped my arms around his neck and jumped on him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me from the ground.

"So glad you said that, honey," he told me relieved. He set me down and I stared in his eyes and he did the same. Not saying any more, he leaned down and kissed me.

What interrupted the joyous moment was the noise of a husky grunt. We separated and saw Hugo in the door way. "Are you guys ready?" He didn't sound very angry. It was strange since he seemed to want me so badly the other day. I had to ask him about that later. I was relieved though. Now I could be happy with Aldo. Maybe that coin was more informative than I thought.

"Yep," Aldo replied and we left the room following Hugo, hand in hand, behind his back. I looked up and grinned at Aldo. He chuckled at me. We walked to the living room and found that Smithson was was helping Donny and Omar strap bombs to their legs under neath their pants.

"And you're good to go," Smithson announced standing back up. I had calmed down from yesterday, but seeing them like that put a toll on me. Aldo released my hand and nudged me.

I turned my attention back to Donny and Omar and told them, "Good luck guys."

They said in unison, "Thanks." I tried to smile at them. Donny stood up and surprised me with a bear hug. He really was the bear jew. I hugged him as tightly as I could, but of course he wasn't fazed by my grip. I giggled with tears in my eyes. I was going to miss him like hell, but I'd have someone to help me deal with it, at least. He pulled away from me slightly and whispered in my ear, "You still have it, right?"

"Yes," I answered surely. "And I always will." He grinned widely and kissed me on the cheek.

Soon we all piled in to the truck and headed to the premier. I sat in the front seat with Donny and Aldo, like how I used to. Once we got in, aside from the truck rumbling, it was dead silent. Everyone was focused on their own thoughts about what they had to do tonight. This was a journey that I would never forget. Although there were bumps on the way, I ended up with people who I considered family. Before I met them, I hadn't known what a real family was like, so it was comforting. When I was younger, my father walked out on my mom and I. We were lucky that he stayed after I was born. He probably moved on to another woman soon after that. Because of my father, my mom never took care of me. She always said that I looked exactly like him, so in her mind, she thought I acted like him too. I would always try to do something extraordinary so that she wouldn't look down on me as much. My attempts never fazed her. She ended up dying very young. When she did, I moved to a new city, to have a fresh start. I was seventeen at the time. I thought everything was going to be easier after that, but it wasn't.

The truck slowly came to a stop. I looked around and saw that we weren't at the premier. "Why did we stop here?" I asked in alarm.

Aldo replied, "It would be too obvious if we drove all the way there. We're about a block away." I heard some some of them shuffle in the back to get out. "Remember. Wait ten minutes til you come in, got it?" I nodded surely. He kissed me on the cheek lightly before he got out. Next to me, I squeezed Donny's hand. I looked up at him and nodded. He mimicked and grinned before he got out. There was nothing more I could say to him without having a breakdown.

I watched Aldo, Donny, Omar, and Bridget walk down the street. Bridget was holding on to Aldo's arm as she limped. She had a massive cast on her leg. I wondered what the lie about that was going to be.

Aldo told me to wait ten minutes until I followed, because if I entered with them, their identities would be too obvious. I looked next to me and saw that Hugo had crawled to the front seat, leaving Smithson in the back alone. "You and Aldo..." he started. We made eye contact.

I finished for him, "I guess we're a thing now."

"I can't fight with that." I looked at him curiously and he shrugged. "I've never competed for a woman, and I won't start now. It's too much work...I guess I'm trying to tell you that I'm giving up on winning you over."

I felt a wave of relief wash over me. I thought there would be many harsh words when it came to this. "I'm okay with that," I admitted gently.

"So what about you and Bridget!" I teased. Earlier I saw them sitting together talking. He looked away from me and out the window. He must like her too! I felt like cupid! They would make a divine couple! "Do you like her?"

He grunted, "Is that any of your business?"

"No fair! You get to know all about my love life, now tell me!" I complained.

"Fine!" he gave in. "She's okay, I guess."

"Aw! That's so cute!" I squealed. "You know...She likes you too! She told me earlier. Sort of..."

"She does? Well, she's not as good as you..."

"Please!" I scoffed. "She's a whole lot prettier and smarter than I am! You should go for it..." I advised.

He gave me a, 'hmmph'. I giggled. No. I had to become serious and remember my new mission. "Well...I better get going. Hopefully I'll see you two later."

"Good luck, Cecile," Smithson said. I grinned and sent him a thumbs up.

"Hey. Just so you don't forget about me..." He grabbed my chin and pulled me in to his lips. Aldo's face flashed in my head. No. This was wrong. I pulled away from him.

"Remember Bridget," I mocked him before getting out of the truck. I slammed the door and began walking down the street in a rush.

I had to focus. Anything could happen tonight. I had to be alert.

When I entered the film premier, it was bustling with people. It was so crowded. I was going to have a difficult time spotting my target. Hans Landa. Aldo said my mission was to distract him, but I wasn't going to stop there. I was going to do anything I could to make Operation Kino, a success.

Finally! I found where Landa was, across the way. I began to march over to him, but I was stopped. "Cecile!" a voice called gleefully. "Is that you!" I turned and saw a group of German soldiers. Fantastic. I couldn't avoid them without being suspicious.

I put on a big, award winning smile. "Yes, it's me!" I was so phony, it was pathetic.

"We're big fans of yours," one of them informed me, and by that he meant that they want to have sex with me. "I love the new look!"

"Aw! That's so sweet!"

Another got in my face and requested, "I'd be honored if you sat with us! You can take his seat." He pointed to his friend.

"That's a bit much," his friend complained, glaring at him playfully.

Trying to not sound as awkward as I felt, I said, "What a generous offer, but I'm already sitting with someone else."

"Who!" One yelled. I watched a woman walk past us, carrying a tray with champagne. No wonder...

Saying the first name that came to my head, I chirped, "Landa."

They stared at me in confusion. I was an idiot! "Landa?" they repeated. "I thought that he left you for Meryl."

I lied, "Landa and I are friends. Now if you excuse me, I have to speak to him." They nodded and stomped over to where I saw Landa last. No...Not good. Now he was talking to the Basterds, and Bridget. Shit. I pushed lightly past people to get to him as fast as I could. When I finally did get to him, he was pulling Bridget away from the group. Wait...That was perfect.

"Landa!" I cried. "Are you leaving me for her!" I put my hands on my hips. When Bridget made eye contact with me, I winked at her without Landa noticing.

The look on Landa's face was priceless. I wish I could have framed it. "Cecile! What are you doing here?" he questioned.

"You seem disappointed..." I whimpered. "I missed you Landa...Can I talk to you in private?"

He looked at Bridget before agreeing hesitantly, "Okay, but we have to make it quick. I grabbed his hand and glided him away from Bridget. We entered a small room. He closed the door behind us. I sat down in one of the two chairs and placed my purse on my lap.

"What happened to us? Did you really leave me for Cheryl?" I was sure to bring tears to my eyes, but they weren't fake ones.

He began to pace around the room. "Cecile. You were gone for so long. I was becoming lonely. What else was I supposed to do?" He tried to make himself seem like the victim. I've known him long enough to know that it was a trick. I wasn't naive enough to fall for it.

I had to keep him in here as long as I could. I said, "How do you think I feel about that. I come home only to be neglected by you. I have no one else I can depend on, Hans."

"I have to end this before it goes any further..." he began. "If it's money you want, I can give it to you. You can live in an elegant home, maybe marry a charming soldier...Is that good enough for you?"

I let tears fall from my eyes. "It's not about that, Hans! How could you treat me like this! How can you replace me like that?" He didn't seem to be affected by my tears. He continued to look down at me with those eyes of a snake, ready to strike.

"We've had a good relationship. I'm sure you don't want to ruin it like this...Keep in mind, my offer is a very generous one," he scolded.

"I'm sorry, Hans. You're right," I submitted, whipping my tears away.

He sat down in the chair in front of me. "Now I've got some questions for you..." Oh no. No doubt that it involved the Basterds. "Why did your mission take so long?"

"It was complicated. Earning their trust was nearly impossible. However, once I did, I was discovered. I'm lucky that they didn't kill me." That was actually true.

"Too lucky..." he mumbled. He stood and began pacing again. This time his back was turned to me. I opened my purse silently and the gun shined up at me, begging for me to use it. Not quite yet...

"Do you want to know the true reason why I had to leave you?" he offered. He was ready to strike. He peaked at me and I remained silent. "I believe that you're a traitor."

"Speak for yourself," I stressed. Perfect! Now his back was turned to me. Stealthily, I yanked my gun out and pointed it at him. I was too slow. He turned his head and saw that I had a gun. There was a gleam other than in his eye. I wasn't the only one with a gun. This wasn't a time to hesitate. I had only one shot. I squeezed the trigger, but there were two gun shots to fill the air. Before my brain could realize what was happening, I collapsed on to the ground in pain. His shot got me in the stomach. I was lying on my stomach, so I could feel the pressure of my wound. I didn't hear any signs of dismay from Landa. I probably didn't hit any vital areas then. Damn...

I hear something roll on the wooden floor. I opened my eyes to reveal my blurry vision. I saw Donny's baseball roll across the floor from my purse. I watched Landa pick it up.

"What is this garbage?" he growled with distaste. He dropped it on the ground and it remained at his feet.

"Donny," I breathed. With the small strength I had remaining, I dragged myself to the ball with my arms. I could feel more blood begin to seep out. It seemed to become farther away the closer I got to it. Possibly it was because my vision was failing on me. Maybe I would die here with Donny tonight.

Finally, I reached it. I out stretched my arm and grabbed it in my palm. I sighed filled with relief. I felt empowered by it's touch.

**AN: I hate to say it, but the next chapter is going to be the last! . I never thought that I'd make it all the way to chapter 20! Woo ^^ Well...I guess the only thing left to say is...Review please! :)**


	21. 21 Ending!

**AN: Last chapter! D: *cries* I tried to not make it corny and stuff...Hope you like it!**

"Did you really think that you could fool me with such a simple trick, Cecile?" Landa mocked me, pacing around my soon to be corpse.

Over thinking my situation, I wanted my last words to be something good. I groaned, "Fuck you..." He sent a kick to my stomach, causing me to cough up blood.

"You're nothing more than a traitor. The only reason I sent you on that mission was to rid myself of you." I should have known. How could I be so foolish! I was far to self-centered in the past, to take note on his obscure behavior. Seeing that I was in no condition to reply, although I wanted to, he continued, "I thought that the Basterds would have killed you by now...but it seems that you're working with them now." He knelt down next to me. He yanked me by the hair so that I was looking at him, well barely. My vision was failing on me. Becoming more serious, he demanded, "You're going to tell me exactly what the Basterds are planning tonight. I know that they're here." I'd prove to him that I wasn't a traitor. I refused to betray the Basterds. They were the only ones who genuinely cared about me.

I was already beginning to lose consciousness. I couldn't stay awake any longer. I was past my limits. Right then, sleep seemed heavenly...

_Landa's POV_

I released Cecile's hair and let her face slam on to the floor when I saw that she was no longer awake. She's caused more trouble than she was worth. When I met her, I was aware that she was different than all of the others, but I didn't realize what in particular was so unique about her. Curse my curiosity. Now I had quite a mess to clean up.

I was unsure what to do with her. Killing her seemed to be too cruel, but it seemed appropriate enough. She was a traitor in more ways than one.

Interrupting my thoughts was the forceful opening of the door. Standing in the doorway was Hugo and behind him was another of the Basterds. If my hunch was correct, he was the one known as 'the little man'. Calmly, I watched Hugo's eyes dart down to Cecile and quickly fill with wrath.

"What have you done!" he hissed. He rushed to her side to examine her while Smithson had a gun pointed at me. I wasn't worried about them even the slightest bit.

"Look what she's done to me," I pointed out referring to my arm. When we both shot, she had hit me just below my shoulder. The blow I gave to her was far more effective, naturally. I was sure that I had more experience with a gun than she did, but that wasn't saying much, on my behalf.

Ignoring my remark, Hugo threatened, "I'll kill you..."

"Please. You're not in any position to do that." I snapped my fingers and two Nazi soldiers entered the small room. Hugo stood up slowly. Already disarming 'the little man', they began to check for any other weapons and finding many.

"Take them to the truck," I instructed, and they obeyed. Another Nazi came to my side. "You take care of this one. She's going to be punished."

_Aldo's POV_

Bridget and I stood inside the premier while all of the Germans were taking their seats. Cecile had went off with Landa and I couldn't help but to become anxious. I didn't trust him being alone with her. I knew that Cecile was bound to do something stupid. She despised him after all. Her thoughts weren't very logical when she was emotional.

"We should check to see if anything happened," I suggested to Bridget. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"She'll be fine. He has nothing to gain from harming her. She's probably waiting outside right now," Bridget rationalized. I bet _she_ didn't even believe that bull shit. I knew better. When I had that gut feeling, it was almost never wrong.

I said, "I'm going to check really fast." It was likely that I could have died that tonight. Like Donny and Omar, I had explosives wrapped around my ankles. I didn't care what happened to me, but I just needed to ensure Cecile's safety. It would take a great weight off of my shoulders if I knew that she was going to be safe.

"Don't!" Bridget hissed and stalked close behind me. "We must play it safe for a now! You can't let her get in the way!"

In denial, I disagreed. "I'll just take a quick look. I'm not goin' on a wild goose chase for her or anything..." I was tempted to, but I had to get my priorities straight. Bridget did have a point...She stopped following me when I went outside to the lobby. It was deserted. I became suspicious. I paced around anxiously, searching for any clues to where Cecile or Landa may be.

All of a sudden, I was trampled to the ground by about five men. I wouldn't go down without a fight. I tried breaking their grips by thrashing around violently, but it was no use. "You cock suckin', bitch ass mother fuckers!" I hollered while in peril. I felt them pat me down searching for weapons. They got their damn hands on my explosives, knives, and guns. I felt naked without them. If got my hands on them..."Get off me, you dick heads!"

They jerked me up from the ground and began to drag me to an unknown location.

_Bridget's POV_

I watched Aldo be abducted by a group of Germans. I bit my nail. I warned him that it was risky. Now what was I supposed to do? I wasn't going to go after him. It was far too dangerous. I wasn't willing to risk my life, especially when I couldn't prevent the outcome.

I saw Hans Landa exit the room that he had been with Cecile in. Behind him walked a German soldier, and my eyes widened when I saw that he was carrying Cecile with him. Her arms were tied behind her back and her ankles were tied together. She wasn't struggling, so she must have been passed out. I hid deeper around the corner, fearing that I would be seen and meet the same misfortune as Aldo would. I carefully watched the man go the direction opposite of Landa. What was he planning to do with her? Now I was curious. I couldn't say that I honestly cared what happened to her because I met her not too long ago. Plus, we didn't exactly get off on the right foot.

However, I decided to follow them and investigate. My role in Operation Kino was over. All I had to do was get them in the building, and I had succeeded. I noticed that in her red dress, there was a new shade of crimson in it. That same color was also splattered on her chin. Landa shot her? I felt pity for her. I wasn't very fond of her, but I didn't think that she deserved that. Now I was unsure if she was dead or unconscious. I wasn't about to risk my chances of survival for a girl who was possibly dead.

Aldo's face flashed in my head. Now I felt guilty. It was obvious how much he cared about her. I'm sure he would risk everything to save her. I watched as Cecile and the man got further and further away from me. If I was going to do something, I knew that now was the time. I sighed and decided that I'd just follow to see what they were planning to do to her. If it was too dangerous, then I'd escape without her. There wouldn't be very much I could do for her, due to my leg which was in the bulky cast. I could hardely walk.

Once he reached a small truck, he carelessly dropped her in the back. After he took off, I grabbed a cab that was conveniently in the area. I didn't have money with me, but I'd worry about that later. I told the driver, "Follow that truck. Quickly!" The truck was in the distance and it was getting more difficult to see by the second.

I noticed the driver continuously peaked at me in the back seat through one of his mirrors. I hoped that he wouldn't recognize me. I know that he would want to start a conversation, thus slowing down the car. "You're Bridget von Hammersmark!" he announced. Was anything going to go right for me tonight?

"Yes, it's me," I admitted flashing my teeth quickly.

"Could I have you're autograph? I'm a huge fan! I can't believe you're here!" he exclaimed, beginning to ramble. My theory was correct. He was too busy looking at me, so he gradually showed down. I watched as that truck got further and further away.

"They're getting away!" I cried. "Step on it!"

"You got it." I guess he wanted to stay on my good side, because he went faster than he had been before. "So why are you following them?"

I growled softly to myself. I had to think of some sort of excuse..."They stole my purse!"

Alarm lit up in his eyes. This has potential to work out perfectly for me. "I assure you Bridget, I'll catch them for you!" I didn't think it was possible, but he went even faster. He began to catch up to them, and thought crossed my mind. When we do catch them, what would I be able to do? I could hardly walk. I peered at the driver. Unless...

_Aldo's POV_

I was being shoved in to a truck by those Nazi bitches. I had just met Landa in person, and quite frankly, he pissed me off. He thought that he was so superior because he managed to kidnap us. I swear, when I got a chance to touch him, he would be dead instantly. Furthermore, it made me even more furious when I imagined Cecile being with him. I knew that they didn't have a solid relationship, but it still made me angry. I couldn't understand what she saw in him. He was a weak, spineless man. It was irritating to imagine her kissing him, and hugging him, but hopefully not more than that. Let's be realistic, of course there was more!

"Aldo? Is that you?" I heard Smithson's voice ask me. He sounded very tentative. I was guessing that like me, there was a black cloth tied tightly around his head, to block his vision. My hands were also tied behind my back with tight rope.

"Yeah," I confirmed and nodded even though he couldn't see it. "Who else is here?"

Hugo's voice called out, "Me."

"What happened to Cecile?" I demanded anxiously. Both of them hesitated. I knew that bad news was awaiting me. "Spit it out!"

Smithson finally explained, "We found her in that room with Landa...She had been shot. She was passed out when when we last saw her. We don't know where she is now..." I felt terrible. I promised that she wouldn't get hurt during this operation.

"God dammit!" I yelled. That didn't make any sense. Why would he have shot her? I doubted that he had anything to gain from harming her, unless...He wanted revenge. Could he have realized that she betrayed him? Now that I think about it, he is clever, he most likely figured it out. "We have to find her!"

"Let's focus on getting ourselves out of this mess first..." Hugo reminded me. That seemed like the easy part. I had no idea where Cecile was. No matter where she was, I hoped that she'd be alive. I'd find her no matter how hard I had to look.

When we reached our destination, the cloth was removed from our heads and I found that the three of us were sitting at a table facing none other than Landa. I felt my blood boil by the sight of him. Our hands were still tied, so I couldn't do anything yet. Out of the corner of my eyes I could see that Smithson and Hugo appeared to be calm, but appearances were deceiving.

Landa grinned looking very accomplished. "I've been waiting a long time to get my hands on all of you." I glared at him.

"What did you do to Cecile?" I hissed darkly.

He stared at me with a dormant expression. Lacking emotion, he said, "Even from your perspective, she's a traitor. Her kind will not be tolerated." He was walking right around the question.

I repeated, "I asked what you did to her..."

"Let's not worry about something so insignificant!" he suggested. "Now. We must discuss our terms of surrender..."

_Cecile's POV_

I fluttered my eyes open only to find darkness. I attempted to sit up, but it proved to be futile. Aside from my stomach being in pain from moving, I was unable to because my arms were tied behind my back. I began trying to struggle out of the trap, but I found that my ankles were tied tougher as well. I began to scream, but it was muffled. There was a cloth gagging me.

"Don't bother..It's useless..." someone mocked me. I growled at him. I was in a truck and he was taking me to who knows where! One thing I knew was, I didn't want to wait long enough to find out. There had to be a way to get myself out of this mess.

I looked and saw my purse was next to me. With my hands behind me back, I grabbed and fished around for anything that could be of use. The gun was missing, so all that I had in there was Donny's baseball, a stick of gum, and lint. I couldn't use any of this! I scanned the truck for anything that I could use. It was far too dark for me to see anything. I looked up at the driver. There was only one person present, so maybe I could persuade him. If I got the gag off of my mouth, that may work.

The driver glanced at me in the mirror. As if reading my mind, he said, "This is nothing personal. Just a direct order from Landa."

I meant to ask him what this direct order was, but it came out like, "Rmm mmm mmph." He ignored me and kept his eyes on the road. Dammit. I had to think of a new plan. Fast!

_Aldo's POV_

The three of us basterds were now in the back seat of a small truck with Landa and a Nazi in the front seats. According to our agreement, we had to enter American territories, where they would surrender to us. Our agreement was for it to be known that Landa was working as a double agent all along, and he had a major role in ending the war. Also, he wanted American citizenship, and be granted military rewards. However, in exchange, Omar and Donny will not be stopped, and the operation was still on. The sly son of a bitch. I had to admit one thing though...He was intellegent, yet spineless. He switched sides so carelessly. Which ever side looked more appealing, he was there in an instant. He had no guts.

Now my only worries were concerning Cecile. Landa refused to give me information on her until we we entered American territories. I knew he did something tragic to her, so by the time we reach there, it'll be too late to do anything to help her. Now I was at the point where I was trying to think of ways to live without her. I'd return to Tennessee, and maybe marry a girl around the block. The idea of that made me want to puke. No one else could replace her.

"Stop here," Landa demanded. We all left the truck and stood at the side of the dirt path. Landa instructed the soldier to un-cuff the three of us. He began to give us our weapons back.

"Hand cuff him," Passively, I told Smithson. "My knife..."

Landa placed the blade in my hand. "Isn't handcuffing me a bit drastic?" I marveled down at my large knife. Next to me, Hugo shot the soldier. "Are you insane! I promised that man his life!" Landa cried in a panic.

Ignoring his comment I stepped toward him and made sure that my knife was in his view. His eyes went wide. "Where's Cecile?" I demanded darkly. "And don't you dare lie..."

He stuttered, "S-she's probably at the bottom of a lake by now..."

"You're coming with me to find her! If she's dead, I'll kill you!"

_Cecile's POV_

The truck came to a slow stop, and I failed to wiggle myself out of this disaster. I became even more nervous when the soldier walked around the truck to the back and opened the door. He grabbed my legs and tried to grab me, but I kicked him in the face with my remaining strength. He stumbled backward, but it didn't have an immense effect on him. He had a mere bloody nose, but that wouldn't stop him. He tried to grab me again, but I put up a fight. I wouldn't give up that easily!

I managed to get the gag off of my mouth and it fell against my neck. I begged, "Please stop! This is a misunderstanding!"

"This will be over faster than you think...Stop struggling," he replied. I could sense that he felt pity for me. I just needed another big push.

"Is Landa making you do this? I could flee this country and he'll think that I'm dead. I could go to Tennessee, and nobody will ever hear from me again..." I moped. Tennessee. You couldn't fathom how much I wanted to be there right now, with Aldo. I'd do anything.

He stopped trying to snatch me for a moment. "As much as I'd like that, I can't. This is a direct order, and _I'll _be killed if I don't comply." Catching me off guard, he managed to grab me. He held me by the rope tied around my hands.

I looked in the direction he was carrying me and I saw water, and a lot of it. It seemed to be a lake. I didn't want to die here! I wasn't going to let it happen! I did the one thing I could do. I screamed. I screamed at the top of my lungs and I didn't stop no matter how much the Nazi ordered me not to. He slammed me down on the ground by the edge of the water. He went to grab a nearby cement rectangular stone. "Please..." I moaned with tears pouring from my eyes beyond my control.

With another rope, he tied the cement block around my ankle.

"This is nothing but business..." he promised before picking me up and throwing me in to the lake. I don't think it would have made a difference, but I didn't know how to swim. The cement pulled me down very fast. I didn't bother to struggle. Seemed like this was the end for me. I had no trick up my sleeve to save myself. I felt so disappointed that it was going to end like this. I could have done something! There had to be something I could have done to prevent this...

_Bridget's POV_

After we stealthily caught the truck, I found the Nazi throwing her in to the lake while she was tied up and on top of that, she had a cement block strapped to her. "Shit!" I cursed. At the sight of it, I imagined Aldo's face look torn when I broke the news to him. Filled with guilt, I had to save her. There was still time!

I jumped out of the car with a start. I reached in to my purse and yanked out my gun. Taking him by surprise, I shot him in the leg. My driver ran to my side and demanded, "What are you doing!"

"She's going to die!" I screamed and ran to the water. With my leg weighing me down, my chances of saving her were slim, to none. I turned to my driver, ignoring the Nazi's cries of agony, I asked him, "Can you swim!"

He hesitated, "...Yes"

"Please save her! For me..." I pleaded. I believed that he had a better chance of saving her than I did. He seemed to be in his late twenties, and he was a slim man.

"Okay." He nodded and rushed in the water. I stood there anxiously, keeping an eye on the soldier, only able to hope that he would get to her in time.

_Cecile's POV_

I couldn't hold my breath any longer. It burned. I gave up and let the water enter my mouth. The only option I had was to wait to die.

Becoming curious of my surroundings, I opened my eyes and saw a shadow moving closer to me. Maybe it was an Angel relieving me from my misery. I looked for wings, but they were missing. A normal man? I bet I was seeing illusions. I didn't bother to get my hopes up. I closed my eyes and ignored it. However, they shot back open when I felt an arm grab mine. He was no mirage. He grabbed both my arms, but he had difficulty lifting me because of the cement. He swan down and untied the rope as quickly as he could, but with some struggle. When it was released from me, we floated to the surface. We both greedily inhaled air.

I was amazed that I had survived. I had to be a cat. Taking a guess, I was probably down to five lives. I was going to thank him, but when I opened my mouth, coughing emerged. I needed to get the water out of my body. The man hustled to get me to land. I looked at the land and I saw Bridget standing there looking petrified. "Cecile!" She ran to my side. The man untied all of the ropes. "Can you breathe?"

I shook my head. Only a small bit. "Hang in there..." she muttered. She sat at my side and started pounding on my chest. I could feel the water in my system flow around, but it didn't come out just yet. It seemed to last forever until the water finally poured out of my mouth. I coughed as I forced myself to sit up.

"Better?" Bridget asked. I was still in shock to see Bridget. She was the last person I expected to save me. I was too distracted by other things to bother asking her why she did it.

I chocked out, "Yeah."

"What happened to everyone?" I asked. She stared at me shakily.

"They took Aldo somewhere. Donny and Omar are still at the cinema. I don't know when_ it's _going to happen. As for Hugo and Smithson, I don't know." she answered.

"We have to find them!" I said drastically.

She glanced at the Nazi soldier who was staring at us skeptically. "I think I have a plan." I watched her as she stomped to him and demanded, "Where did Landa take them? Do you have any way to contact him?"

I barely made out Bridget taking a walkie talkie type of device from him. She looked at me with a triumphant grin, but it faded quickly when she saw the glossy look in my eyes. "We have to get her to a doctor soon, or she might not make it," the man announced. That was comforting to know. I found myself being reunited with that black abyss again.

The next time I awoke, I found myself in what appeared to be a comfortable bed. As my vision began to return, all I could see was white. It seemed angelic. No. I had to be dead, because it was too good to be true. "Cecile?" It was Aldo's voice.

"Aldo?" I murmured. I must have been dead because being with him was like heaven to me. "Did we die?"

He laughed boisterously and opposed, "No, honey. We almost lost you there." I felt his hand gently grazing my stomach. It must have been stitched up and wrapped with gauze. When he moved his hand, I attempted to sit up. Aldo showed his discouragement, but I continued anyway, ignoring the pain. My vision slowly returned to me and I saw Aldo. I saw the white room was lit up by the morning light.

"How long was I out?" I groaned. I looked around the room and saw Hugo, Bridget, and Smithson slouched in chairs around the room. Bridget...I had to thank her later. I was still in disbelief that she did all of that for me.

"A bit over a day," he answered laughing.

"That's wonderful!" I whined, throwing my head back. "So what happened that night?"

"Donny and Omar are...you know..." We both looked down sullenly. "I met Landa too. I heard about what he did to you...Anyway, the good news is, the war is over!"

"No way!" I shrieked! I threw my fist in the air triumphantly. "That's amazing!"

"That's over, but things aren't finished yet. We're going to get revenge on Landa," he vowed. "He's not going to get away with any of this..."

_One Month Later..._

I stared outside in my backyard at the pond. I was currently in Tennessee. After the war ended, Aldo, Smithson, and I jumped in a plane to America. Smithson went back to his home town. I'm sure his family was relieved to see him. He was lucky to have them. Right now, he's probably working at his father's deli.

As for Bridget and Hugo...They decided to remain in France, and see how the country becomes with the war finished. They were probably together by now. I giggled to myself. I was glad that things worked out for them. Even though Hugo gave up on me fairly easy, I would have felt pity if he ended up alone.

I paced around the deserted home and I marveled at a Donny's baseball that sat on the mantel above a fire place. I would never forget him. I missed him so much.

On the other side of the mantel was a mossy colored jacket hung up on the wall. It had all of the damn Nazi badges on it. It was none other than Landa's. I remember when I got it.

Before Aldo and I left for America, we payed him a visit. We found him at a hotel with another whore. I couldn't begin to describe how happy I was to be rejected by that scum. When the we arrived, the whore left the hotel in a hurry. Even she sensed that we meant business.

I didn't have the guts to kill him, but an arm for an arm, as they say. I shot him in the stomach, the same place he shot me, and we left him there to suffer. No food and no water. I didn't even know if he died from it. Either way, I didn't give a damn. That was enough revenge for me. He probably deserved more, now that I think about all that he put me through.

I was so happy where I was now. With Aldo. We lived in a small home in a tranquil neighborhood. No near death experiences. No Nazi ass holes. This place was pure.

I looked at our mantel and saw few picture frames filled with Aldo and I. Over time there would be so many that we would run out of space. The sun gleamed down on them, leaving a glare. I stared at one in particular, and caught my reflection in one, but I was not the only person I saw. I yelped and began to turn around, but hands wrapped around my waist and held me in place. I felt at ease when I felt Aldo's lips press against my neck gently. I sighed, "You scared me." Aldo's hands moved on to my stomach gently. We were expecting.

"You've got to be more alert. What if I was a Nazi?" he humored. I broke away from him and walked to the kitchen with Aldo trailing behind me.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Very funny." Aldo had just returned from work and I just finished dinner. I began attempting to make dinner. It wasn't a chef's piece of work, but at least it was edible. I'm sure Aldo wouldn't mind.

As we sat down at the small dinner table, I couldn't help but to grin. I've been yearning for this lifestyle for the longest time. I didn't need a high maitinence way of life to be happy. It didn't make a difference to me if I was poor and hardly making it by. As long as I was with the right person, everything was perfect.

**AN: Aaa I can't believe it's the ending! I know that some of u wanted me to do a sequel, but I probably won't. I want to do a story on FictionPress, but after that, I might do a sequel if I can't think of anything else to do. Aaah, this is the last time I get to say it for this story...Please review! :)**


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